


All the King's Blades

by CharlyLee



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Demon!Oikawa, Explicit Language, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Growing Up, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mild Gore, Non-Explicit Sex, Other, they are all dorks, well this escalated quickly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-04-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 49,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23378122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlyLee/pseuds/CharlyLee
Summary: The man allowed his eyes to travel across the land unknown to him.The revival of a gifted dynasty, the awakening of an angel, the birth of a healthy demonic halfling and the rising whispers between the trees and the wind.So many centuries after his own kind had been hunted and banished from these lands - Magic was returning to Miyagi.And no one could foresee what would follow it.******After their daring coup d'etat and ascending the throne of Aoba Johsai, Iwaizumi believes him and Oikawa deserve a little break.But the universe doesn't seem to be willing to grant them one.From Prince Tobio hitting puberty, a rapidly rising Karasuno and tensions in all of Miyagi, to owls and cats messing with them - and in between trying to stay alive and together, the past is catching up to them.******((This is a continuation of the amazing work by FindingSchmomo! I highly advise reading their work before starting this story but if you are willing to wrap your head around certain things, then you don't necessarily have to.))
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kyoutani Kentarou/Yahaba Shigeru, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shirabu Kenjirou/Ushijima Wakatoshi, Various Side Relationships
Comments: 5
Kudos: 18





	All the King's Blades

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [And All the Prince's Men](https://archiveofourown.org/works/11495643) by [FindingSchmomo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FindingSchmomo/pseuds/FindingSchmomo). 



> **Disclaimer:**   
>  _English is not my native language and while I do my best to quadruple-check all my writing, some mistakes might slip through - Feel free to point them out in the comments, I am always happy to improve my texts ~_

The man cowered, perched up high above the forest ground, on the branch of a thick Sorbus tree, claws digging into the bark. His figure blends in perfectly with his surroundings, the shadows painting his dark robe in tranquillizing patterns. His eyes were sharp and alert as they gazed across the clearing ahead of him.

He was too late. The humans had found his prey faster than the man had.

His talons flexed and tiny crumbs of tree trickled down onto into the shadows, like black snow. _What to do now?_ His task had been to find the halfling and secure him, but the humans posed a problem. The man doubted, he would have any trouble killing them, they were simple and unaware creatures, but he was not keen on a blood bath, if only because he had just cleaned his feathers the previous day. The wings on his back rustled, as he rearranged them, the sound blending perfectly into the soft whispering of the trees around him.

He crooked his head and focused back on the people below him. The demon had not yet spotted him, but that was no surprise. The man was native to these woods and he was far more trained in disguising himself than the halfling was.

For a moment he contemplated revealing himself to the group, but he had a feeling it would only end in chaos and bloodshed. The demon would not come with him willingly, he was certain of that and then there was the issue of the young human, he was cradling against his chest.

The boy smelled, only faintly and under the heavy scent of demon, the man almost didn’t notice it. But once he had, his feathers fluffed and he nervously licked his lips. _Death._ The boy smelled of death. And the man knew, tempering with the owner of this particular aroma of death, was like asking to be struck by lightning mid-flight. _It was a very bad idea._ The Silver Crow would not be pleased if one of its fledgelings was to be hurt. 

_Your problem is not the Crows’ wrath,_ he scolded himself, _your problem is the demon._

He scanned the other humans again. Two more younglings and the one carrying the sword, aggravatedly snapping at the halfling. He would pose the largest obstacle, but the man was confident, that with the moment of surprise he’d be taken out quickly. The two youngs seemed critical towards the halfling, keeping careful distance, but the whole picture was peaceful. Only the tiny crow concerned the man. His aura felt empty, eyes hollow and blank. Typical symptoms of contact with a shade.

The demon, however, was handling him, carefully and almost lovingly, something that confused the man. Maybe it was because he was a halfling and had human blood, maybe it was because he was an extraordinary actor, luring his prey. But he gently cared for the tiny human, leaning against his chest and so the man decided that intervening for medical purposes was not necessary either. _How weird, for a black-blood._ The man scrunched his nose.

The longer he watched the group however, the clearer it became, that he would have to let the halfling go. They would have to find another way to get to him. 

With a little displeased _‘tsk’,_ the man spread his wings and let himself drop from the branch. His flight was soundless and elegant, as he drew a curve through the woods, back to where the rest of the party was still examining the scorch marks.

 _“Man,_ you took your time”, the Black Cat looked at him, the moment the man landed by his side.

“There are other humans with him. One of your new friends’ youngs is among them”, he explained.

“Is it so hard to just speak _normal?_ I didn’t get a word”, the cat sighed and the man scrunched his face in displease.

“A human boy who smells of Crow. Who smells of _death._ And I am not risking a fight with the Angel unless I absolutely have to”, he explained pointedly.

“So you let him walk?”, the cat asked and scratched his head, disarraying his wild hair even further. _“Ah fuck_ \- I think I know the kid. Crows are gonna flip their shit upside down if anything happens to him”

The dark-haired started to pace up and down, while the man gracefully locked his hands behind his back, taking a look around.

“What do you think of this?”, he asked.

“Traces of a _shade,_ as we suspected. Didn’t leave much of it behind”, a third, tiny, young human, hunching on the ground, mumbled, finger poking at the burned earth unenthusiastically.

“And the halfling?”, the man asked.

“Powerful, but uncoordinated. He’s following his instincts - just burned the whole thing to the ground”, the black cat said the same moment that the leaves on the other side of the tiny battlefield rustled and a fourth man emerged from the woods, a few arrows in hand.

“Seems like they tried to shoot it”, he waved them around, then he spotted the man and his face brightened up.

 _“Ohhhhhhh”,_ he chirped, throwing his collection to the ground, hopping over to them, arms outstretched. “You are back. Did you find it? Can we kill it?”, he asked cheerfully.

“No, he is not alone anymore”, the man said, patiently allowing the other to wrap him into a tight embrace, face nuzzling into the rim of his wings.

“So what, who cares?”, the newcomer asked with a shrug.

“Our deal is with the demon, not some human bystanders. And one of them belongs to the crows”, the black cat huffed out, poking the young human on the ground in the shoulder. “Seems like we gotta take the diplomatic approach”, he announced.

 _“Eh?_ But that’s the _boring_ way! And can we even allow it to run free? It kinda burned down half the clearing”, the fourth man asked, disappointed, his bright yellow eyes losing excitement.

The tiny human got up to his feet, dusting his palms off on his coat. “I want to go home, it’s starting to get cold”, he yawned. “And I don’t sense traces of madness. So I don’t think he will go berserk in the near future”

“Yes, he seemed very settled”, the man mused, gently prying himself free of his companion.

“So we came all the way for nothing?”, the bright-eyed man deflated even further.

“Sadly, but at the very least, now we know what we are dealing with”, the man sighed. It was not like he wasn’t disappointed he had to let his prey go, he was simply not showing it as open. His claws twitched and dug into the earth, feathers rustling.

“We’ll get him, one way or another”, he said, eyes gleaming brightly, then he turned to the two cats. “I am counting on you.”

“Don’t have to tell me that twice. I know just as well, we can’t let a halfling like him run around and do whatever he wants. And I have a feeling the crows don’t want that either. After all, it is just a matter of time before he develops an appetite and starts hunting”, the black cat shrugged, adjusting his own coat.

“I still would have liked to fight it”, the bright-eyed man whined, as the group turned towards the two horses, bound to a tree at the edge of the clearing.

The man stretched his wings.

“I’ll see if I find anything else you can have fun with, Your Majesty. Shades rarely travel alone”, he offered.

“Ah, shades are boring, try to find something more challenging. A chimaera maybe, or a wyrm. Something _corporeal”,_ the other brightened up, hand reaching up to tap against the knob of one of the two swords strapped to his back and the cat rolled his eyes as he mounted one of the horses, his fellow human perched up in the saddle behind him.

The man bowed. “As you wish”, he said, then he hunched down, unfolding his wings and with a little leap and a few strong beats, he ascended into the sky.

This was going to be a _hassle,_ he felt it. The man did not like being dependant on someone else's compliance, let alone the consent of people he did not know.

As the wind carried him across the treetops his sharp eyes travelled into the distance, across the unknown continent. He had yet to decide whether he liked it or not, but one thing was without question.  
The revival of a gifted dynasty, the awakening of an angel, the birth of a healthy demonic halfling and the rising whispers between the trees and in the wind.

So many centuries after his own kind had been hunted and banished from these lands - _Magic_ was returning to Miyagi.

And no one could foresee what would follow it.

**\---**

It is the soft knocking that wakes Iwaizumi up. He is still dizzy, lifting his head from the soft pillows, blinking to clear his vision.

The first thing his eyes fall on, is the body stretched out by his side. Sleek, perfect muscles under soft skin, a gracious curve from hips upwards over strong shoulders melting into a stretched-out neck, complemented by a trail of dark red hickeys that he himself had left there. 

Oikawa’s tail twitches under the blanket as Iwaizumi nuzzles his way into feather-light brown locks, a spiralled horn scratching against his forehead.

It knocks again and the dark-haired man sits up. _Right._ He gives his _husband_ \- at moments like this, he still has troubles believing it - another longing look, realizing that they are both very much naked.

“One moment“, he says loud enough for the person at the door to hear him, but silent enough not to wake his partner, then he climbs out of their bed, frantically looking around for something to dress himself in.

After a few hesitant seconds, he goes for a sky-blue morning robe, that is quite tight around his shoulders and slightly dragging on the floor - probably because it is Oikawa’s - and heads for the door.

He opens and looks down at a middle-aged man, bowing as Iwaizumi stands before him.

„Good morning, Your Highness - I hope you had a pleasant night’s rest“, the man speaks and Iwaizumi swallows nervously. He has been the king of Aoba Johsai for several months now, but just as his marriage to Oikawa Tooru, it still feels _surreal_ at times.

“Good morning“, Iwaizumi answers and steps outside the room, almost closing the door to provide privacy for the sleeping, should he decide to wake up.

“I know it‘s not your job, but do you know if he has… if _we_ have a schedule today?“, he corrects himself.

The man, head servant of the castle proper, thinks for a moment, then replies: „If I recall correctly then the King wished to inspect the barracks before noon and the carpenter is scheduled to arrive in the afternoon, presenting his suggestions for the new study“

Iwaizumi lets the words sink in. 

At the beginning of winter, shortly after his coronation Oikawa had promised to renovate the servants quarters but they had run into unexpected troubles as the compound was in such dire need of thorough renewal that it would be uninhabitable during the time of reconstruction. And even though winters in Aoba Johsai were mild, they were still too cold to have the castle staff live outside, so the plan now was to build provisory housing as soon as spring came and the days grew warmer. Until then it had been agreed upon to focus on renovations that could be done during wintertime - starting with the royal chambers.

“I actually came to ask if you have any requests for breakfast, Your Highness?“, the man asks carefully, causing Iwaizumi to flinch. He must have gotten lost in his still drowsy thoughts.

“Ah... _erm.._ no, just, keep it simple today.“

“As you wish - is there anything else you need?“, the head servant looks up at him, being one of the few people who were significantly shorter than Iwaizumi.

“No, well… _actually_ \- only if someone has time - could you tell the maids to heat up some water for a bath? I can come down to get it myself later, I am sure they are all busy but It would be nice if it was already warm“, Iwaizumi stumbles over his own words.

Giving out orders had always come naturally to him when he had still been a servant himself, but ordering people to do things that were not for the world at large but his own personal benefit, feels somewhat wrong. After all, he knows how much work all the things nobles take for granted are.

“Iwaizumi - _if I may“,_ the small man carefully places his hand on his forearm. “The people choose you as their king, you can have more confidence in yourself! All of the staff, that have seen you grow up from a boy to where you stand now, are proud to know you as we do! We know you are kind at heart and after everything you have done for us little people I am sure everyone at the castle is more than happy to serve you!“, it is a warm, fatherly smile that sends a rush of sympathy and a little embarrassment through him.

“Thank you“, he mumbles and the man bows once more.

“It is our honour“, then he turns around, leaving for the servant’s wing where the kitchen and the washhouse are located.

Iwaizumi looks after him for a few more seconds, then he goes back into the room only to find a snickering half-demon gleaming at him with impish, sparkling, red eyes.

“Iwa-Chan, you are just _too_ adorable you know?“, Oikawa has rolled onto his belly, the blanket temptingly slid down to his hips.

“Shut it!“, Iwaizumi barks, turning away to hide his blush, flinging the robe he was wearing at the other and grabbing his own, that he has now spotted hanging over a chair.

Oikawa chuckles in the background, then Iwaizumi hears cloth moving and moments later a body drapes itself over his back, sharp fangs lovingly nibbling at his earlobe.

“Stop that, it tickles!“, Iwaizumi wiggles himself free, glancing around the room. “And put on some clothes“, he adds while picking up a lost pillow and throwing it on the bed. 

Luckily the mess they had made the previous night wasn‘t too bad and cleaned up quickly. Two books smacked off the table here and a toppled down chair there.

When he turns around he has to snort.

“You aren‘t fucking serious, right?“, he grins, examining Oikawa and his attempts to put on a robe by his own.

“This would not happen if you finally agreed to have an attendant again, _you know!“,_ Oikawa hisses at him, voice muffled, trying to free his head out of a sleeve. Iwaizumi rolls his eyes - he has managed to refuse all attempts of getting them an attendant and when asked he simply told the truth: Knowing how close an attendant usually was to their master at all times he just didn‘t feel comfortable with someone invading their privacy like that. And after spending the entire day surrounded by people he wanted it to be Oikawa and him when they finally got to rest - _just_ the two of them.

 _“Careful,_ your horn will rip it!“

He grabs an arm lashing out and starts to softly pull the cloth off the demon again. Oikawa smoothes into his touch, following the movements Iwaizumi guides him through until they are standing in the middle of their chambers, half-dressed and so close that Oikawa’s nose is brushing against Iwaizumi's.

He can feel a hot breath against his lips, enthralling him.

Abruptly Iwaizumi takes a step back. “You did that on purpose, _didn‘t you?“,_ he gasps, surprised about how fast his heart is beating.

It is the sheepish smile that reassures Iwaizumi in his suspicion but it also means something else - that smile means that Oikawa _has won._

“Oh fuck it“, and he grabs him by his hips, shoving him onto the bed, slanting their lips together.

Fingers, crowned with talons, move into his short hair and over his back, keeping him down.

When he is eventually running out of air and they have to part Oikawa whispers: “How about _fuck me?“,_ and licks his lips lasciviously.

“Don‘t stretch your luck, demon boy“, Iwaizumi pants.

The brown-haired lets out a soft, almost cat-like purring sound, and smoothes his nose against Iwaizumi’s. “And if I do?“

Waiting for Oikawa to walk straight into that trap Iwaizumi pokes his fingers into the body trapped underneath him.

He is quite certain that, should he use his true strength, Oikawa could easily overpower him. But as long as he didn‘t go full demon Iwaizumi had the upper hand, tickling him without mercy.

Oikawa squeals and gasps for air, squirming and laughing. _“Iwa-Chan,_ stop it“, he giggles gleefully, his thin tail flicking against Iwaizumi’s abs, hands clasped around his biceps, desperately trying to wriggle free. Without success. 

Between all their laughing they almost overhear the knock and the slightly confused and flustered maid telling them the water is ready.

Iwaizumi aborts his tickling mission to go thank her, then he turns to his husband, draped across the bed, arms and legs spread wide, face red as a cherry and still wheezing.

“Come on“, he pokes the limb closest to him.

 _“Carry me,_ Iwa-Chan“, Oikawa demands and one shining red eye glances at him.

“Hard pass“

“But I can‘t walk“

“Uh-huh“, Iwaizumi turns away. “Well then I will bathe alone“

 _“Wait!“,_ Oikawa wails pitifully. “It’s not my fault you are such a brute - my hips hurt“

Iwaizumi turns his head to the hips in question and grins. “If I recall correctly you like it when I‘m a bit rougher with you“

“Iwa- _chaaaaaaaaaaaaan“_

He rolls his eyes, smoothing one arm under Oikawa’s shoulders and the other into the hollows of his knees.

With a pleased murmur, the half-demon smooths his horns against Iwaizumi’s chest as he is carried bridal style to the bath.

“I love you, Iwa-Chan“

“You _suck“_

“Mean“

Properly clothed and bathed they enter the dining room about an hour later. 

The table is set for three people, meaning that Prince Tobio will probably join them at some point.

Oikawa takes a seat at his father’s place, at the head of the table, Iwaizumi to his right where the late queen had usually resided. 

A large bowl, carved out of warm oak wood, filled with all sorts of fruit dominates the centre of the table, accompanied by a rich plate of smoked meats and sliced sausages. Alongside some butter, and a cut open loaf of warm, fluffy bread. In front of each plate stands a warm egg, hidden under a tiny woollen hat.

It is not exactly what Iwaizumi had called a _small_ breakfast but knowing what royals were usually served this was indeed quite tuned down.

“You need to be more self-confident Iwa-Chan. Have you _looked_ at me recently? I lost half my weight!“

“Unfortunately you make it _impossible_ not to look at you“, Iwaizumi takes his egg and the tiny silver spoon next to it.

“With my good looks?“, Oikawa blinks at him with big eyes.

“No, with your _impertinence“_

But Oikawa has no chance to call him _‘mean‘_ or whatever, as the door opens and a young servant boy enters with a deep bow, holding a silver tablet, Prince Tobio two steps behind him.

While the dark-haired royal takes a seat and disguises a yawn by bowing sloppily before his brother, the servant hands Oikawa the tablet and stutters: „Your… your mail, your Highness“

Oikawa gives him his best smile as he thanks and dismisses him, sorting through the hand full of letters.

“Anything important?“, Iwaizumi asked him.

“These are letters to _the king,_ they are _all_ important, Iwa-Chan“, then he turns his head to his younger half-brother. “Tobio, are you constipated?“

The teen freezes mid-movement, then slowly drops the meat fork down on the plate and stares at it, as if it could tell him the solutions to all his problems. Slowly swallowing he straightens his back and looks up at his brother.

 _“No“,_ he says, voice hoarse.

Iwaizumi exchanges a glance with his husband and shrugs.

“I…“, the prince starts, then clears his throat. ”I want to talk with you about something“

Oikawa leans back, red eyes fixating the younger one. “Well, I _am_ listening“.

“So, I talked to King Sugawara and I… want to move to Karasuno“, the prince is skillfully avoiding to look into his brother’s eyes and instead takes an enormous interest in one of the paintings hanging behind the King.

Iwaizumi chokes on his glass of water. Oikawa’s eyes turn into narrow slits.

“You _what?“,_ he asks sharply.

“I want to go to Karasuno!“, now the prince looks at him, fists clenching on the table.

“You can’t. You have responsibilities here!“

“Which ones? You are the king now, and you are good at it! Nobody needs me here… and nobody _wants_ me here either“

“You can‘t just leave - you are _14!“_

“I thought, _you_ off all people would be happy to _finally_ get rid of me“, the youngster jumps to his feet.

“Tobio - _sit down“,_ Oikawa hisses, voice dangerously pressed.

“But…“

 _“Okaaaaaay“,_ Iwaizumi exhales loudly, before one of the two can say something they will regret later. He feels like an intruder interrupting the discussion like this but his egg has started to taste _foul_ and he doesn’t want this, so far perfect day to be ruined.

“What…“, he halts to think for a moment, “what did the kings of Karasuno say?“

Prince Tobio looks at him, then he sits down, falling back into his chair. “They want to talk with you first“

“Reasonable“, Oikawa straightens his back. 

“So… how does this work?“, Iwaizumi glances at him, then at the prince.

“I was planning on visiting sometime next week - you could bring me there“, the prince mumbles out his suggestion.

“You were planning to go _next week,_ and are only telling me, your brother, your _king,_ now?“

“Well be glad I am telling you at all!“, the prince growls.

 _“Tobio!“,_ a warning glare.

“Tooru...“, Iwaizumi reaches for the clawed hand clenching into the armrests, giving it a gentle squeeze.

The half-demon seems to relax, still glaring at his brother though.

“I will have to think about it“, he eventually speaks regally, then the brown-haired turns back to his letters.

For a moment Prince Tobio looks like he is not yet done with the discussion, but Iwaizumi shoots him a warning look, discreetly shaking his head and mouthing _‘don’t push it‘._

He is still uncertain about how to handle the prince. Technically he is now higher ranking than the youngster, but it feels wrong to give orders out to a royal born prince.

The dark-haired bites his lower lip, slightly frustrated and picks up his meat again.

The air in the dining room remains loaded with tension and Iwaizumi is frantically thinking of a way to lighten the mood. His breakfast is turning into stones every time he swallows.

But Oikawa is faster as he opens a letter with a big, purple wax seal and sighs.

 _“Finally_ \- I almost thought Wakatoshi-Kun had forgotten us“

 _“Huh?“,_ Iwaizumi tries to read the message from his perspective. Thankfully the letters are clean and elegant, written with great care and easy to read.

_~As is tradition, the annual High Council of Miyagi will be held on the first of summer’s turn._

_To commemorate the ennoblement of Prince Regent Ushijima Wakatoshi, Shiratorizawa is proud to invite all Honoured Lords to the castle proper~_

“What is the _annual High Council_ and what does that mean?“, Iwaizumi looks up, brows furrowed.

“The _High Council of Miyagi_ is a meeting of all ruling nobles to discuss international politics and trade across borders. It's the most important gathering every year!“, Oikawa puts down the paper, resting his chin against his fingers.

“I never heard of this? Why didn’t we ever attend it?“

“Because“, Oikawa sighs a little annoyed, “only the rulers are allowed to participate in the debates. Princes and heirs can accompany them, provided they already had their Grand Debut, but they are not allowed to address the council. And father made sure never to send me to Shiratorizawa at that time of year. I only managed to attend it once by faking to be sick and unable to journey home.“

He dips his head back and glances up at the ceiling, his fingertips tapping against each other. “It is of the _utmost_ importance that we leave the best possible impression, Iwa-Chan. This meeting could be defining for the rest of our regency!“

“You are kidding, _right?“,_ Iwaizumi feels his throat drying out by the second.

“Iwa-Chan. We managed to convince our neighbours but Miyagi is not just us, Ushiwaka, the crows and that old hag of a queen in Dateko. I was engaged to Ushiwaka for almost five years, only to first be claimed dead, then return, overthrow my father, cancel the wedding, marry a servant and be crowned king of Aoba Johsai instead of Tobio. Also, I assume the other kings and queens will have caught the rumours about my… _cosmetic differences_ by now. If you were a foreign ruler, _especially_ one who doesn’t know us, how would you feel about all that?“

Iwaizumi swallows back hard. _“Point taken“_

For a few seconds there is silence, only disrupted by Oikawa’s tail flicking against the back of his chair, then Iwaizumi manages to ask.

“What does _Prince Regent_ mean? I thought he was already the Crown Prince?“

 _“Prince Regent_ means, he‘s in charge of the government now“, Prince Tobio muffles through a slice of bread, much to Oikawa’s displease.

“Do I even _want_ to know where exactly you left your manners today?“, he asks with a raised eyebrow, then he turns to Iwaizumi. “But yes, It seems his father has officially stepped down as the head of government. Kings usually do that once their sons are of age and or ready to take over the rule. The King stays the head of his country and usually still acts as supreme judge, but they give up control over political decisions to ease the transition and act as an advisor while their children take on more responsibilities.“

Iwaizumi scratches his chin. “So _he_ runs the country, but his father can step in, in case it's heading south?“

“Well, that's another way to phrase it“

Iwaizumi grins as a sudden thought pops up in his head and he straightens his back. _“Wait,_ since you are the King now - does that mean we outrank Ushiwaka?“

Oikawa chuckles, eyes gleaming. “Well _yes…_ but for peace's sake I wouldn‘t want to challenge him on who‘s the one with more authority.“, then he bares his sharp fangs in a bloodthirsty smile. „Not _yet“_

They finish their meal with a lighter mood and Oikawa reading the rest of his mail.

Prince Tobio leaves the table early, stomping out of the room without giving them a second look.

“I don‘t know what is up with him. I always thought father made sure he was _disciplined!“,_ Oikawa is voicing his resentment as they slowly walk towards the rooms they have chosen as their new quarters.

“Well he‘s trying to be like you - and if I remember correctly you were always happy to talk back to your authority figures.“

“Copying my every move - _as always then“,_ Oikawa hisses, crossing his arms over his chest with an indignant huff.

“Oh shut it! I mean: _He‘s not wrong!_ You saw him at Karasuno, he was blooming and _honestly,_ I thought you wanted to get rid of him too“, Iwaizumi meets him with a side glance and raised eyebrows.

“How bad do you think of me? That was _once!_ He is not my rival for the throne any longer, so I have no reason to hate him, don‘t I? Aside from his grumpy and _disrespectful_ attitude that is“

“Tooru“, Iwaizumi looks at the ceiling, thinking. „I think you should try a little more to understand how he feels.“

 _“Whose side are you on?“,_ the horned head snaps around.

“I am not on _anyone's_ side - I just think you should at least consider it“, Iwaizumi huffs. 

“Moving to Karasuno - that's a pretty extreme thing to do from one day to the other! _Even father_ waited to ship me off until I was of age. He is 14, he‘s too young. And also: _Karasuno!_ Off all places that dusty hill land!“

“He gets along quite well in that dusty hill land.“

“I understand he likes that shrimp prince of theirs but still - I am not convinced they can make up for a high born of Aoba Johsai. It‘s just not the same standard, never mind the fact that they have open conflicts left and right!“

“Don‘t talk them down. They are doing the best they can with the means they have. And maybe that's exactly what he likes: That nobody is expecting him to be perfect all the time.“

 _“I_ have no problem being perfect all the time!“

_“Gesundheit“_

_“IWAIZUMI HAJIME!“_

“The point is: Why don‘t we accompany him and talk to the kings there. Maybe then we get a better picture about where this might be heading“, Iwaizumi steps aside to let a pair of maids pass them in a great hurry.

 _“Hmpf“,_ Oikawa straightens his back striding forwards. But they have reached the large double-winged doors and the half-demon has to stop only a few steps later, turning to look at him. For a second the red eyes just stare at him, digging into Iwaizumi’s green ones, then Oikawa dips his head to the side.

“You want to get advice from Sawamura, _don‘t you?“_

Iwaizumi feels his face flame up. “Are you poking around in my head again?“

Oikawa laughs and makes a tiny, dismissive hand wave. “I can‘t read minds. And you are just easy to look trough. Your _afraid,_ _aren‘t you?_ About the High Council mee- _Ow“_

Iwaizumi swats the back of his head. _“Shut up“,_ he growls, “I am _not_ afraid of a stupid meeting“, he barks, but his hostility can’t hide, that Oikawa has hit right where it hurts.

Because he is _right._ Iwaizumi is terrified by politics. He is a knight, damn it. He can take on armies without hesitation but sitting in rooms full of people waiting for him to do something wrong, to use the wrong fancy phrase, to mistake an entry fork for a salad fork or whatever, expecting him to make decisions that could affect the entire country for years - that overwhelms and scares him, makes him sweat behind the knees and when he gets nervous he has the tendency to screw things up. _Or punch people._

Talking to the only person who could possibly understand how he was feeling is a ray of hope for him.

“Okay“, Oikawa takes his hand, squeezing it gently and twining their fingers. “And If I told you, that I was afraid too?“

 _“Bullshit!_ You are just excited you get to show off your fancy elaborations and play word twist games“

The demon chuckles. “That as well“

Iwaizumi takes a deep breath.

“Are you ready?“, he asks and Oikawa nods quietly, then they open the majestic door.

Shortly after their wedding, they had realised that Oikawa's old room was not large enough for them. His bed might have fitted them perfectly when they were kids but they have both grown a lot since then and it was starting to get tight. All the new books and documents, that Oikawa now needed around, where stapling on his desk and also the entire castle, including the round of noble advisors, the servant body and Oikawa himself all insisted that sleeping and working in the same room was not acceptable for kings. And so they had decided to move.

The most logical assumption was the actual royal quarters but it connected directly to the king’s study and neither Iwaizumi nor Oikawa were fond of living and loving only one door away from his father. Several attempts of relocating the former king had gone fruitless and so the search for an alternative had begun.

To their surprise, it had been Prince Tobio who offered the solution: _The Queen’s rooms._ They were located one flight of stairs above and in the opposite wing of the king’s chambers, but almost as large and of the same structure.

A spacious bedroom with a series of broad windows facing the orchards and a directly attached bathroom. Connected by elegant doors, the ensemble was completed by a bright tea and art salon and a small reading room.

Until he had heard about them from the prince, Iwaizumi had been entirely unaware these rooms even existed. Oikawa, however, had been hesitant at first. His mother was still a sensitive topic and entering her rooms for the first time after her death had led to an emotional breakdown. Iwaizumi had needed all his strength to keep him from storming the kings study and shredding his father to pieces.

“I‘m fine… _I just…“,_ Oikawa takes a step into the main bedroom, careful as if he could break anything by just looking at it. “Father never let me in here… I hope she was happy here, away from him“

Iwaizumi squeezes their hands tighter. “It looks like a happy place, warm and comfortable“

”Is it okay for us to disturb it then?“

“I think she would have wanted you to be happy here as well!“

 _“Yeah“,_ the brown-haired squeezes his hand back. “I think we can turn her atelier into a new study room, one that doesn‘t give me headaches all the time.“

Iwaizumi smiles a little. That determined look is way better than the sad hanging eyes. He presses a chaste kiss onto Oikawa’s cheek and then quickly steps away, looking around the room as if nothing has happened.

“She really was a talented artist!“, he says, eying one of the half-finished paintings on a medium-sized easel.

 _“Iwa-Chan“,_ Oikawa ogles him with big eyes and flustered red cheeks, then he too smiles, warm and soft, following him and smoothing himself against him. “She was indeed“

“Get off me you slime“

“I know you love me“

“Keep dreaming“

“Why are you like this?“

“Me? _Slime“_

It is a soft, purring sound that the other emits, his thin tail lovingly flicking against Iwaizumis thigh, linking their arms.

“If we turn the tea and art salon into a study, what are we gonna do with the reading room?“, Iwaizumi opens the door to the small chamber.

“It could be a nice…“

“If you say _‘servant chamber’,_ I _will_ punch you“, Iwaizumi gives his husband a stern look, poking his elbow into the brunette’s ribs.

“I was gonna suggest a walk-in closet. _Why_ are you always so heavy-handed?“

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes.

“Yeah… could work… let‘s see if the carpenter has any more ideas. We‘ll also need a new bed“, he thinks out loud, walking across the room and running his hands over the filigree woodwork in the generous canopy bed’s pillars.

It is beautiful art and the bed itself is in perfect condition but it feels just so inappropriate to continue using it. After all, it belonged to the late queen.

 _“Hm“,_ Oikawa traces his fingers over the elegant duvet, covering the sheets. It seems like the maids had never found the courage to remove them. In general, the first time they had entered here a few days ago had felt like the first time anyone had been in the chambers. Time had been frozen in here. 

The thick overthrow-blanket has a deep turquoise colour and is covered in rich embroideries, forming a tree, with its roots at the foot of the bed and its thinnest branches up at the head. 

Iwaizumi loves to imagine how relaxing it must be to curl up under there and be shielded by the heavy fabric.

“It’s sad we can‘t take the one we have now“, Tooru looks at him with a mischievous smile.

“No“, Iwaizumi replies shortly, “It's _too damn small“_

“But I like curling up against you“, a pout.

“If you stop at curling up and refrain from stretching all over the place, pushing me out of the bed, _then_ we can keep it!“

“I am not aware of me doing that“

 _“Of course not,_ you are deep asleep“

“Well at least I don‘t _snore like a horse“_

_“Huh?“_

“Please don‘t punch me again“

 _“Geez,_ you are hopeless“, he winds one arm around Oikawa, giving a chaste kiss to one of his horns. “And also: _I don‘t snore“_

 _“Yes_ you do - and you are _adorable_ when you do it“

 _“Shut it,_ Shittykawa“

 _“Hm….“,_ a soft hum against his chest.

For a few seconds, minutes or maybe hours they stand like this.

Iwaizumi is astonished how _soft_ Oikawa can be. He is very much like the cats that roam the castle grounds. Majestic and proud but If one knows where to tickle them, they turn into purring balls of softness within the blink of an eye.

“By the way, why do you want to inspect the barracks?“, Iwaizumi remembers and gently pushes Oikawa an arm’s length away, to be able to look at his face.

“It‘s never a bad idea to know the state of your fighting forces. And also, though only an idea: If we already have all the workers at the castle in summer maybe we could give the barracks a polish as well“, Oikawa replies, back at his royal _‘organising and instructing‘_ -tone. “Now that Kyotani has moved out, there are a lot fewer damages, but I thought giving it a closer look would not hurt anyone“

Iwaizumi nods thoughtfully and scratches his chin. He hadn‘t even thought of the barracks, despite the fact he had lived there quite long. “I didn‘t even think of that, but _yeah,_ sounds like something worth investigating“

“Although I am still not certain, if allowing it was a good decision. Making an exception for him might suggest that we have favourites and I don‘t want anyone to get the wrong idea. _Especially_ since he is still a trainee“, Oikawa rests his chin between thumb and index finger - thoughtful.

“But Yahaba is the only one who has him under control and as you said: Damage to the barracks has _significantly_ decreased since he moved out“, Iwaizumi shrugs it off. He understands where Oikawa is getting the idea but he also believes that he is over exaggerating a bit.

 _“You_ have him under control“, red eyes under a raised eyebrow.

“So you want him to move in _with us?“_

It is the flinch in Oikawa’s face that makes Iwaizumi chuckle.

 _“Thought so!“,_ he pauses. “Look, I know what you mean but seriously. They have saved our asses so we can make this one exception“

“I suppose you are right“, the other nods. “I am so glad I have you Iwa-Chan. I‘d be lost without you!“

“You‘d be pretty _fine_ without me. I am just standing around and try to be non-embarrassing decor“

“You keep me grounded. When I am overthinking things and get nervous, you tell me if it actually makes sense or if I am getting over my head again“

“I had no idea you were even capable of such wellfounded self-criticism“

“It‘s not criticism, _it‘s reflection“_

“Aaaaaand I stand corrected“

“Iwa-Chan, we were having _a moment,_ don‘t ruin it with you grumpy negativity“

 _“My_ negativity?“

He huffs jokingly and Oikawa dares to show a shy smile.

Back when they had kept their affections to themselves, unable to openly show it anyways, every moment of sheltered weakness had been full of eager tension and both of them trying to make up as much as they could for all the times they had to keep their distance.

Now that they were married, there was nothing to fear from being together and Iwaizumi felt like they had grown softer in their love, less hasty and a lot more relaxed. There was no need to hurry after all. No one was going to separate them _ever again._ They had all the time in the world to love.

If that wasn‘t character development... And also he just has that _damn weak spot_ for Oikawa.

They spent the rest of midday walking the orchards. Oikawa had started to try out some more magic and was working to perfect a growing spell that was supposed to speed up the new seedlings development.

But ever since his first attempts had done the exact opposite and drained the young trees of their energy instead of boosting it, he had retired to practice on ordinary weeds. And that only after Iwaizumi had spent two constant days persuading him, while Oikawa had locked himself up in a room, refusing to come out, afraid of hurting someone.

His progress since then was fluctuating. Some days the patch, that the gardeners had prepared for him, grew waist-high weeds in a matter of _minutes_ and some days the earth turned white like ashes and every bug or insect in it crumbled to dust. Most days nothing happened, other than Oikawa cursing his limited knowledge and the fact that by now their research and quest for gathering more books about magic had hit a dead end.

As they walk by the check now, Iwaizumi shoots him an encouraging glance but Oikawa shakes his head. 

“I don‘t feel like it today…“

“Are you okay? You haven‘t tried in a week“

“I am just _frustrated_ that I can‘t seem to get the hang of it and I don‘t want to kill the bed with my negative feelings… _again“_

Iwaizumi squeezes his hand. When it comes to magic he was out of his league. He had tried to read some of the few materials they had on demonology, but they were written in complicated phrases and most of them in _first-tongue,_ the ancient language commonly used for everything arcane. Oikawa miraculously seemed to understand it but to Iwaizumi the words were just row after row of foreign runes. And the rest was too abstract for him to comprehend. As it was for Oikawa, who couldn’t make sense of the flowery allegories either.

“I wish I had a teacher, but I guess _that_ will never happen“, Oikawa seems to deflate on the spot.

“Maybe you just need to pick a less difficult spell. I mean you have that fire thing figured out quite well. Maybe the fertilisation spell is just expert level and you need to practice more with low-level magic“, Iwaizumi thinks out loud as they walk on, hand in hand.

“That's just because it’s a destructive spell …. _how else could it be._ I am a demon after all - _a creature of darkness“_

“Well with _that_ mindset it‘s no wonder!“, he stops, forcing Oikawa to face him, his other hand carefully brushing a soft brown streak of hair out of his face. “You are _damn amazing,_ Shittykawa! You just have to believe in yourself! And you are the fucking _brightest_ person I know, so stop talking like that!“

Oikawa looks like he wants to argue about it but then he reconsiders and drops his head against Iwaizumi’s shoulder, taking a deep breath.  
For long moments they stand like this, and he starts to run his fingers through his husband’s hair. The other hums pleased.  
 _“Hm…_ maybe I can look for a different spell”, he eventually gives in to Iwaizumi’s suggestion and the dark-haired gives himself a mental pat on the back. By now he was starting to make a fine art out of motivating lousy, lazy and whiny royal half-demons.

“Will you help me sneak around at Karasuno? We didn’t have much time scouting their library the last time we went there, but according to Ushiwaka they are supposed to be experts on arcane stuff”, Oikawa straightens up, searching his face.

“Can’t hurt, can it!?”, Iwaizumi agrees and the other’s lips quirk up into a mischievous smile.

“It’s sad that I can’t send you scout anymore while I entertain them”

 _“Hey”,_ he flicks his fingers against the other’s forehead and Tooru giggles. “Don’t be an ass or I won’t help you”

“Okay, how about this then: _You_ entertain them and _I_ look for books?”, the other offers and Iwaizumi breaks a cold sweat by just thinking about it.

They have already been to Karasuno once since his coronation, but only for a day before travelling on to Dateko. It has been by far the place with the most relaxed atmosphere but he still isn’t keen on having to do the royal talk all by himself.

 _“No”,_ he thus grunts and grabs the clawed hand aggressively, turning and dragging Oikawa on. “We are doing this together! _All of it!”_

The other doesn’t answer but Iwaizumi can feel him radiate amusement and affection.

“Then I believe it is settled? We’ll get your brother to Karasuno?”  
“Do you _have_ to ruin everything by putting this on Tobio? Can’t this just be about us taking a nice little vacation and not about the twerp getting his ass spoiled?”

Iwaizumi sighs and shakes his head. He can’t come up with a response other than whacking his husband in the side.

 _“Ow,_ Iwa-Chan, _why?”_

 _“I’ll_ stop, if _you_ can stop being such a little shit for just twenty minutes!”, he declares as they walk on, gravel crunching under their shoes.

Tooru mumbles something to himself but, _wonder oh wonder,_ he actually refrains from mentioning his brother for the better part of the day.

They have a look at the barracks, decide to consult the bursar, then have a little tea-break before taking in the ideas the carpenter offers once they show him to the rooms and spend the rest of the day squabbling over that.

In the end, they move the decision to a couple of days later, to have the chance to let everything sink in and contemplate the different possibilities.

**\---**

If he had to name one thing from his time as a knight that he really misses, it is _riding._ Iwaizumi becomes painfully aware of that, quite literally, when he twists in the carriage and his entire backbone cracks like dry twigs under a steel-capped boot.

 _“Fuck”,_ he grunts out and spares a glance out the window.

“Hajime”, Oikawa clicks his tongue.

“He’s right”, Prince Tobio mutters. “Why didn’t we ride? It would have been faster. This is a waste of time”

“Taking a time out and relaxing is _never_ a waste of time”, the elder brother recites and pointedly leans back into the cushioned bench.

 _Just that this is everything but relaxing,_ Iwaizumi thinks but he keeps his mouth shut. If he says that, he knows he will have to spend the rest of their journey with the two others either fighting or sulking. Most certainly _both._

So he just grunts and tries his best to mimic his husband, but no matter what, he can’t find a position that is comfortable for more than half an hour. 

Maybe it’s his clothes, he contemplates. Ever since they left home, he is forced to wear a high collar, in order to hide the pentagram in his neck. They are _itchy_ around his Adam’s apple and he feels choked.

Outside, the wind howls stronger as they leave the shelter of low growing woods and enter the wide-stretching highlands that make up the central part of Karasuno. They have been on the road for three days now and should arrive at their destination later this day. _Finally!_

On horseback, Iwaizumi is rather certain they could have made it in half the time but Oikawa insisted on the carriage. Then again, considering the winter wind whipping around the carriage he is almost glad they did. Emphasis on _almost._ His back is still killing him. 

Winter in the crows’ land seems to be not so much different from Aoba Johsai. There are only a few little patches of snow and the air is relatively mild - apart from the occasional icy gusts of wind.

“Everything looks so _grey”,_ he mumbles more to himself. The sky is a bright and icy blue, speckled with puffy white clouds.

“We are just spoiled”, Prince Tobio shrugs. 

Iwaizumi thinks about that. He supposes the youngster has a point. Aoba Johsai was not the kingdom of flowers for nothing.  
He sighs and flexes his shoulders again.

“Iwa-Chan, your constant fidgeting is making me nervous”, Tooru leans against him, tries to keep him still.

 _“Sorry._ But my back is killing me”, he mumbles.

Prince Tobio grunts something incomprehensible and to be honest: Iwaizumi is fairly certain it is better, that he didn’t understand what exactly the dark-haired royal said.

Oikawa furrows his brows at his brother, tail flicking against the cushions. Now it is his turn to soothe his husband and put his hand on the brunets thigh.

“Will you… _disguise_ yourself?”, he asks with a little hesitation. Prince Tobio glances at his brother from the corner of his eyes.

Oikawa takes a deep inhale and lets out an even deeper exhale. “Well I did the last time, so I don’t see how not doing it all of a sudden would cause anything but confusion”

“But revealing yourself might help us - maybe if they knew, they could help us look for more specific literature”, Iwaizumi suggest.

Oikawa grunts. _“That_ or we start an armed conflict”

“They wouldn’t do anything”, Prince Tobio mutters, still looking out the window.

Tooru raises his brow. “And _how_ would _you_ know?”

His brother shrugs. “I just don’t believe it. _Shoyo_ stomached it well”

“Maybe and I really hope he kept his mouth shut. I refuse to hand any foreign ruler _anything_ that they might use as leverage against me!”, Tooru declares. “I can’t stop rumours and I don’t plan to. But there is a profound difference between a chance and a certainty! So _no - I will not”_

And like that the conversation is finished, his tone not allowing any talk-backs.

Iwaizumi keeps his sigh in. It’s his decision and he can’t really act like he knows anything about it. He is used to his partner’s demon appearance but other people… 

Oikawa had been forced to suppress this part of himself for years and it must be hard for him to suddenly show it to everyone. 

To everyone's fortune, they only take a few hours longer until the young prince sits up straighter and declares. “We’re almost there. That was the markerstone”

And indeed only little later they begin to ascend the steep hill that is adorned with the towers and walls of Karasuno Castle. The more often he sees it, the more Iwaizumi thinks about how its nickname _‘The Lair’_ fits the collection of spires, thick walls and the dark gate, reinforced with steel bars so perfectly.

Their carriage rumbles over the heavy cobblestone covering the main yard and once they come to a stop, Prince Tobio jumps up and out the cabin before anyone can hold him back. Oikawa hisses something very unfriendly about _having respect for his brother and king,_ then he masks his horns and tail, straightens his back and gracefully unfolds his tall frame into the outside. Iwaizumi follows him a little rockier, his legs having grown numb from the long time spent sitting.

They are greeted by King Sugawara, who awaits them at the base of a row of flat stairs that lead up to the main portal.  
The silver-haired man gives them a graceful court nod. _“Welcome to Karasuno,_ I hope your journey was pleasant”

Pleasant apart the fact that Iwaizumi can’t feel his butt anymore but _yeah,_ that better remains unspoken.

“It was indeed, thank you for welcoming us”, Tooru responds, giving a little bow of himself and Iwaizumi follows his example.

The King furrows his brows at them, then he lets out a deep breath. “Please apologize, it is simply that you should have passed my husband and son on your way”, he explains, back to his usual bright smile.

“I didn’t see them”, Prince Tobio sags a little.

Sugawara laughs fondly, then he beckons the youngster closer and to Iwaizumi’s amazement, the dark-haired royal almost trips over his own feet on his way to comply and bow. With a gentle smile, the king pats his hair.

“Don’t worry, Daichi may get lost from time to time but Kota doesn’t - would you like to go look for them?”, he offers.

Prince Tobio seems to light up like a bonfire as he nods.

“Take Momo, she should still be saddled and will find them for you”, the King muses.

With increasingly far dropping chins Iwaizumi and Oikawa both watch the moody prince turn into a model depiction of softness and compliance as he turns on his heels and fucking sprints across the yard.

Sugawara looks after the boy with fond eyes, then he turns his attention back to the two of them, expressing: “He is a good boy, your brother”

“Yes… _indeed”,_ Oikawa manages and his voice is not even that high and pressed.

“Unless you’d prefer to wait out here, we can go inside and you can refresh yourselves. However you wish”, Sugawara offers with an inviting gesture.

“A change of clothes would be nice”, Tooru decides and Iwaizumi nods along. _Yeah definitely._ He won’t get rid of the turtleneck but at least he’ll get into something fresh and lighter.

Sugawara smiles and steps to the side to let them pass. Now he can spot a man in servants attire bowing for them.

“As you wish. Narita will show you to your chambers and provide you with every comfort we can offer”, Sugawara says.

“I am at your service, Your Highnesses”, the man speaks.

Before they can continue there is clacking of hooves on stone and Iwaizumi turns to locate the source.

The prince is towering high on one of the most massive horses Iwaizumi has ever seen in his life. _So that is the famed Karasuno horse._ The stories didn’t over exaggerate.

Next to the bulky mare, the horses that have pulled their carriage look almost _fragile._ The chestnut mare with dark brown legs and mane leisurely pads over to them and huffs right into Sugawara’s face.

The king laughs fondly, patting the steed’s muscular neck mumbling: _“I know girl, you show the boys”,_ before nodding at Prince Tobio, telling him: “Hold on tight, Tobio”. Then he gives the horse a tender slap against its flank. With a loud neighing, it makes a jump forwards and with an additional gentle kick from its rider, gallops out the yard.

 _“Wow”,_ Iwaizumi mumbles. He is almost jealous of the prince. It must be amazing to ride one of these. Maybe he can ask if he is allowed to do so too?

But before he can fight with himself over whether that would be inappropriate or not, Tooru is already leading the way inside and he scrambles a little not to fall behind. As they follow the servant into the dark inside of the castle the last thing he can hear is Sugawara directing more servants to take care of carriage and horses and show their escort to their quarters.

They are provided with a hot bath and when they return to their chamber, servants have carried all their belongings there as well. The rooms aren’t large, but comfortable and cosy. From their windows, they have an unobstructed view along the cliff.

Oikawa, _of course,_ insists on putting on one of the flashiest outfits he packed, despite Iwaizumi rolling his eyes all the way through helping him dress.

By the time they are both done, the sun is almost kissing the horizon and so the servant leads them into the main hall, that Iwaizumi already knows from his other two visits.

The first time he had been here he had thought of it as dusty and run down. He definitely wasn’t thinking that anymore! If there was any indicator of the rapid rise in power this small kingdom had made, then it was the fact that the entire tiny fortress seems to have had a massive glow up.  
The Kings, shining almost as proud as their castle, await them in the main hall. The servant that led them there bows and vanishes.

King Sawamura greets them with a dip of his head. _“Welcome._ Excuse my delay - we were held up”

The two men lead them into a dining room where they take a seat.

Iwaizumi can overhear Sawamura as he leans over to his husband quietly asking: _“Kids?”._ The silver-haired man stills as if he is listening to something else, then answers: “Just on their way”

And indeed only a minute later they can hear the two princes squabbling in the hall outside.

“You are so slow Kageyama. Why do your clothes have so many ribbons? It’s _ridiculous!”_

“It’s called _fashion,_ something _you_ do not understand _anything_ about!”

“It’s _stupid!”_

 _“You’re_ stupid!”

“At least I am not as slow as a snail!”

“You only have the _size_ of one!”

“No, _you do!”_

“I can _literally_ step on you, _dumbass!”_

“Can’t step, if you can’t catch me!”

_“Huuuuh?”_

_“Ow,_ Kageyama you idiot, stop pulling my hair, it hurts!”

“You have enough of it, you won’t miss that fist full!”

Sawamura lets his head drop into his palm mumbling something about _kids these days,_ then he straightens up and raises his voice. _“BOYS!”,_ the command thunders through the room and Iwaizumi feels the overwhelming urge to spring to attention, even though he knows he isn’t addressed.

The bickering stops immediately and with backs straight as pine trees and postures as orderly as humanly possible the two youngsters step into the dining room and bow.

As soon as they have taken their seats, two servants begin to serve food and they dine over idle chatter.

Iwaizumi doesn’t feel the usual cold breath of stress evoking anxiety, that is breathing down his neck anywhere else, but he is still a little awkward.

 _Naturally,_ Tooru leads the conversation and seems happy to exchange royal verbalities with Sugawara. Meanwhile, Sawamura focuses more on the two princes, glaring them down into their chairs every time their own conversation begins to get too heated.

So Iwaizumi just listens a little here and there and once they have finished and the princes excuse themselves he tries his best to follow the entire conversation.

But his mind drifts off, always two or three sentences behind, trying to make sense of whatever they talk about. 

“And how are you doing, Iwaizumi. I hope you have found footing in your new role”, Sugawara asks and it takes him a solid second to realize he is addressed.

“Oh, _urm_ fine I believe. Still working on it, but I am confident”, he clears his throat and does his best to sound as royal as possible. But somehow he still feels like he fucked it up.

The silver-haired man smiles gently, then looks at his husband, lips quirking a little mischievously.

Sawamura defensively lifts his hands. _“Oh no,_ we are not exchanging embarrassing stories. I am thoroughly convinced, that no one wants to hear them”, he declares and shudders.

Somehow his easiness is helping Iwaizumi. The other man doesn’t even try to be overly exact so maybe he doesn’t have to put up an act either.

“If you allow the question, I have never been able to learn what your occupation was, before your ascension, King Sawamura”, Tooru leans forward a little.

“I was a carpenter's apprentice”, the dark-haired man tells them with a shrug.

Iwaizumi stops short. A _carpenter’s apprentice?_ Not a knight or a servant or something loosely related to the castle?

“Then I imagine your meeting must have been a gesture of destiny”, Oikawa hums, with a smile. Iwaizumi knows that face. That is the face he makes when he wants people to feel safe so they spill all their secrets to him.

“Some people may call it _destiny,_ I’d call it _an ox cart”,_ Sugawara muses.

Iwaizumi can’t help but snort out his amusement only to grow stiff as a salt pillar. Oops. _Fuck._

But Sugawara simply chuckles along and elaborates: “I almost got run over, but _luckily_ I was saved”, as he puts his hand on his husband’s.

“And I thank that cart every day of my life because otherwise, I would have never been able to work up the courage to talk to you”, Sawamura sighs with a smile on his lips, then he turns to look outside before furrowing his brows.

 _“Damn…_ it’s already this late. Koshi -”

 _“I know._ Go ahead. And tell them I’m sorry”, the silver-haired gives him a reassuring smile.

Sawamura stands up and clears his throat. “I am terribly sorry, but there is one more thing that I must attend to. Iwaizumi, would you like to accompany me?”

For a moment he is so confused about the offer that the first thing he does, is staring at the foreign king, then slowly turn at Tooru.

His husband gives his hand an encouraging squeeze.

“Only if that’s really okay”, he eventually manages out.

“In fact, I am _counting_ on you to”, the other man gives him a warm smile.

And so, with a bow towards Sugawara, Iwaizumi gets up and gingerly follows the other man. He throws one last look over his shoulder but the silver-haired king has already recaptured Tooru’s attention and so he takes a deep breath and collects all his confidence. This is what he came here for. To ask this man how he had managed. He just didn’t expect to have a chance for a private conversation so soon.

The moment, the door falls shut behind them, Sawamura drops the royal act entirely and stretches his hands over his head, joints popping loudly, then he turns and gives him another lopsided grin.

“Let the high borns have their fun”, he simply says and Iwaizumi grins, a little relieved he was not the only one unable to relate to the fancy conversation.

The other man leads him back towards the main portal but stops at a door hidden in the shadow of a pillar and signals him to wait, while he goes rustling through what seems to be a small storage room.

 _“Catch”,_ Sawamura calls and Iwaizumi reacts just fast enough to snatch the cloth being flung at him. It turns out to be a heavy cloak with a thick woollen collar.

“We are going outside?”, he asks.

“Yes, down into town”, the king nods as he emerges from the room, a similar coat wrapped around him and a leather bag flung over his shoulder. Something inside it clinks, sounding like bottles. 

“I mean you can grab your own if you want to, but staying simple would be better”, the man looks at Iwaizumi still holding the cloth.

 _“No!”,_ he says hastily and pulls it over. “I’m fine”, he straightens his back.

“Good, then let’s get going”, Sawamura nods and leads them into the chilly night. Iwaizumi is instantly glad for the rough but thick cloak.

The wind has dropped but so have the temperatures.

They walk in silence until they are out the gate and Iwaizumi desperately tries to think about something to say. _What would Tooru do?_ Probably small talk. The one thing that absolutely isn’t his strong suit.

“You know, you should relax a little more”, Sawamura gives him a side look.

Iwaizumi feels his cheeks heat up. _Aw fuck this!_

“Is it really _that_ obvious?”, he asks defeated and scratches the back of his head.

The other man laughs and pats his shoulder. “If there is anything I learned, then that everyone who can’t see your worth is an idiot, not deserving of your efforts!”, he explains and adjusts the bag over his shoulder. “What I mean is: No matter how hard you try, there will always be those who think they don’t have to take you seriously - _they are assholes_ and feel free to ignore them. There is no point in trying to please someone who doesn’t want to be pleased! So just relax and be yourself”

Iwaizumi nods. _That makes sense._

“How did you manage?”, he asks.

Sawamura snorts out loud. “In the beginning? _Not at all!”,_ then he sighs. “A lot of unnecessary stress I guess. At some point, when your problems are threatening to suffocate you, you gain a new perspective on what is really important and what you think is but really isn’t”

“But what if I make a _mistake?”_ , Iwaizumi wrings his hands.

“Then _make one!”,_ the other man answers him without a thought. “You are young. You have time to fix it! When I think back to the choices I made - _fuck,_ I really can’t say that I am proud of what I did. They were necessary but that doesn’t make them any less wrong”

“You mean the war with Nekoma?”

 _“Among other things”,_ Sawamura sighs. “But I was young, I was an idiot and I was naive. I thought I could do it better, but in the end, I just made things worse - I know that now, I know what is worth fighting for and what isn’t and I pray that I know it well enough I will never make decisions like that again. So now I can spend my time fixing things”

Iwaizumi takes a deep breath. _Make mistakes…_

“And you should always remember that your country is strong, so in a sense, you can’t fuck up that bad. Nobody is going to insult you to your face because even the most elitist of those vulture-diplomats are not going to risk picking a fight with Aoba Johsai. So relax”, and the older grants him another lopsided smile, this one not without a little twitch of pain.

Iwaizumi smiles back. _Heavens,_ he hopes the man is right!

By now they have reached the foot of the hill and stand at a crossroad. He is pretty certain that they arrived via the road snaking along the base of the rise and then vanishing into the hills, painted scarlet red by the very last rays of the setting sun. The other road continues straight ahead and in little less than a kilometre distance, a conglomeration of houses sprouts from the ground. Iwaizumi realizes he has never before been to the town.

“Where are we going?”, he asks as they continue walking.

“Checking by some old friends”, Sawamura hums. “You looked like you could use a break”

 _“Yeah…_ thank you for that”

“Don’t sweat it. I know how exhausting it is. At some point, you drift off and try to just look like your paying attention”

Iwaizumi chuckles. _Spot on._

They walk on in silence until they reach the first row of low houses, that steadily grow in size. The settlement is way larger than Iwaizumi had guessed and after a couple of minutes, they reach a large marketplace with a fountain at the very back. Two more broader streets, like the one they arrived on, lead through the houses, at the left and right side of the square. 

Sawamura, however, leads him across the cobblestone until they reach the far end and squeeze themselves through narrow walkways in between three-storey frame houses, that lean against one another and almost touch at the top.

Eventually, they meet a medium-sized street and turn left until his guide stops in front of a low, one-storey building with a broad gate at the side and a heavy door next to a few windows. A fresh wind is starting to pick up and Iwaizumi pulls his coat tighter around himself.

Sawamura takes the heavy knocker and bangs it against the wood. Iwaizumi looks around until he notices an artfully crafted sign above the closed gate. _A blacksmith’s shop?_

There is rustling behind the door and the other man bangs the knocker again.

 _“Saints Asahi,_ it’s me. Will you let us in, it’s _cold!”,_ he calls.

The door opens and a tall man peeks outside.

“Sorry, Daichi”, he apologizes, then his eyes fall on Iwaizumi and he hastily brushes back loose strands of hair falling into his face before bowing clumsily. “I _erm_ mean, Your Highness”

“Please - _don’t”,_ he lifts his hands pacifying, feeling the discomfort rise in him.

“Will ya get your _fat ass_ inside and close the _damn door_ already!”, another man shouts from the inside of the shop.

 _“Noya”,_ the tall one breathes out weakly, shooting Iwaizumi another panicked look.

Sawamura grins to himself as he beckons him inside and closes the door behind them.

Iwaizumi takes a shy look around the spacious room. It is dominated by a large, massive table, several chairs and what he identifies as a kitchen with a fireplace and oven. A heavy leather curtain is hanging from the thick ceiling beams, separating this living space from the forge and workbenches, where Iwaizumi spots the second man.

He is _small!_ Probably the same size as Prince Shoyo, but his bare arms are packed with muscles and a twisted cloth is keeping his spiky hair out of his face. The tiny man stares at him intensely and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Who the hell are _you?”,_ he asks.

His large partner with the bun turns at least three shades paler, hands wringing anxiously.

 _“Umn…_ my name is Iwaizumi, it’s a pleasure to meet you”, he introduces himself and bows.

 _“Oh…_ you’re the new king of Seijoh - _eh,_ expected something else”, the small man shrugs leisurely and turns to take off the heavy apron, he had been wearing.

His partner shoots him an intense glare before turning towards Iwaizumi and appeases him: _“Please ignore him,_ Your Highness, he doesn’t have any manners!”

“Oh _umn,_ no, it’s really no problem and... _er…_ Iwaizumi is just fine”, he flops his hands, hoping to soothe the other.

Both men seem to be at roughly the same age as Sawamura and since that makes him by far the youngest and also a guest, Iwaizumi really doesn’t want them to fuzz over him.

The tall one turns to Sawamura.

“You could have _said_ something - _everything's a mess!”,_ he accuses the king.

“Yeah _sorry,_ I wanted to check by earlier but I got held up”, the other grins apologetic.

“Where did ya leave Suga? Good Sir too fine for the common people?”, the smaller man steps into the main room, pulling the cloth from his head, shaking out the wild black spikes.

“Has to entertain the other guest - buuuut he sends his greetings and also humbly request forgiveness”, Sawamura makes an elaborate handwave and reaches into his bag, pulling out two bottles. 

The small man takes them, inspects the handwritten labels and whistles. “Well, I think we can forgive him, what do you think Asahi?”

“I refuse to take part in your backstabbing”, the other says, eyes heavy with accusation.

Iwaizumi turns to Sawamura, a little lost.

 _“Oh right._ Iwaizumi, those are Azumane Asahi and Nishinoya Yuu - Karasuno’s finest blacksmiths”, he explains.

 _“Damn right,_ the one and only”, the smaller one, Nishinoya, bumps his chest.

 _“Noya”,_ the taller, Azumane, sighs.

After a little hesitation, Iwaizumi follows Sawamura’s example and drops his coat over the back of a chair.

The King meanwhile is walking over to Nishinoya. “Is it finished?”

 _“Excuse me,_ who do you think I am?”, the small one huffs and vanishes behind the curtain. 

After a moment they can hear him call aggravatedly: _“Asahi,_ stop putting the stuff on the high shelves!”

The addressed sighs deeply, going to help his partner, mumbling very audibly: “I wouldn’t _have to_ if you’d clean up your tools once in a while”

They return moments later and Nishinoya hands his king something wrapped in cloth. Sawamura pulls back the fabric, and turns the object in hand, whistling respectfully.

 _“Catch”,_ he turns to Iwaizumi and loosely tosses him he thing. _Again._

He manages to snatch it and curiously takes a look. His breath stops for a solid second. The sword is magnificent.  
Confused he looks up and is met with an encouraging nod. “Come on, pull it”

Hesitantly he does, breath stuttering in his throat. [The blade](https://charlythelee.tumblr.com/post/190671192334/royaltyauiwaoidesigns) itself has a dark, almost black colour and when he tilts it, fiery, copper reflections blaze across the polished steel. In stark contrast, the handle is crafted from light metal and in the form of an amazingly detailed tree. The crown spreads over the base of the blade and the roots wind up and around the handle, capturing an intensely turquoise gem at the knob.

 _“This…”,_ he is speechless. The sword is a little shorter than what he is used to, but it feels perfect in his hand. Awestruck he traces the delicately crafted ornaments on the hilt.

“Good, looks like it fits, wanna try it out?”, Sawamura hums, pleased.

Iwaizumi looks up at him, then back at the blade. _Tying it out? This… this was for him?_

“I… I _can’t accept_ that”, he breathes, heart throbbing longingly.  
 _“Course you can_ \- I would have liked to give it to you at your coronation but things got a little delayed. I had to ask Tobio to sneak us some references as I didn’t know what kind of sword you’d prefer”, the other man explains.

“But… this is _crow steel”,_ Iwaizumi fights with himself, tilting the dark blade back and forth, captured by the blazing reflection. He has heard rumours about this metal, but never actually seen it. He knows it is rare though - and that the crows are very protective over it. _So why?_

“It _is_ \- and I have the feeling you might need it someday. _Listen,_ we commoners need to stick together a little, so take it! I can’t order you but I will still _try_ if you don’t”

He takes a shaky breath, then he looks at the two smiths and bows deeply, the sword pressed to his chest, heart jumping in excitement. “Thank you - it is _magnificent!”_

 _“It better be,_ ‘cause Asahi worked his ass off on it!”, Nishinoya declares, putting his hands on his hip.

“Well, it had to be _worthy,_ so”, the tall man scratches the back of his head, cheeks growing rosy.

“A little _posture_ , if I may”, Sawamura slaps him on the back, forcing his friend to stand straighter. Then he looks back at Iwaizumi. “So you want to try it?”

 _“Yes please”,_ he straightens his back. He feels almost like a child again.

Nishinoya leads them through a door into a dark backyard with another, larger forge in the corner and stacked firewood at the sides of the brick walls surrounding it. On the other side, another smaller house, that looks more like a residential building, closes the yard off.

The smith rolls over a heavy piece of tree trunk.

 _“There ya go_ \- let it all out and _preferably_ let it out in firewood sized pieces”, he declares, then the three men take a couple of respectful steps back, giving Iwaizumi the space he needs.

Testingly he adjusts the grip on the handle. The sword is heavy, but when he lifts it, it follows his movements fluidly, as if all it’s weight evaporated into nothingness.

Taking a deep breath, Iwaizumi solidifies his stance, flicking the blade back and forth, before switching to attack. Like a dancer he moves through a few basic stances and patterns, then he takes up speed, swings the blade upwards in a wide curve before changing his grip and cutting down in a sharp line. He had expected to be met with resistance from the wood but the crow steel lives up to its name and slides through the trunk like through butter.

With a yelp, he lets go of the sword and jumps back before he can cut off his own feet.

The two halves of the wood clatter to the ground and the blade stills, stuck in the sandy floor.

 _“Smooth like a butterfly”,_ Nishinoya sighs dreamily.

Iwaizumi takes up the sword, pulling it from the earth and examines the black blade, carefully running his finger along the edge. Sharp! Incredibly sharp! Every common blade would break if it were manufactured like this.

“This… _how_ do you do this?”, he asks in awe.

“Professional secret”, Nishinoya declares and he nods. _Yeah, right._

“It will stay like this, so you don’t have to sharpen it as often as a normal blade”, Sawamura tells him and nods, very pleased with the display.  
“It’s _amazing”,_ Iwaizumi flicks the sword over the back of his hand, easy and playfully. The metal handle feels astonishingly warm and soft under his palm.

His eyes fall onto the gem and he eyes it a little closer. It looks pretty much the same as the one worked into his crown. A _grandidierite_ \- a gem usually exclusive to Aoba Johsai.

“Yeah _so”,_ Sawamura scratches the back of his head, “Just to put all cards on the table, I _specifically_ told Tobio to ask before he takes anything from the treasury, but I guess he _didn’t…_ heh, _kids these days,_ they’re going to be the death of me. So just to make things clear: That one _technically_ already belonged to you”

Iwaizumi’s eyes grow wider in surprise but he also can’t help the sly grin quirking upon his face. He doesn’t really know what he expected from Prince Tobio but he _sure as shit_ knows Tooru will tear him a new one.  
“Tooru is going to have a stroke”, he grins and shakes his head.

“Well if he wants Kageyama, he’ll have to go through _us first”,_ Nishinoya gruffs and crosses his arms over his chest.

“He isn’t ours, Noya - but _do_ tell Tobio that he can come by anytime he likes”, Azumane scolds his partner before he turns to his king.  
“I don’t think I’ll have to tell him that twice. You probably got him at your doorstep first thing tomorrow morning”, Sawamura laughs. 

_“Ah,_ did Shoyo finally convince him to get up early?”, Nishinoya grins shit-eatingly.

 _“Nah,_ but I can attest by years of experience: If _he_ wants you to be awake, you really don’t have a choice, no matter what time it is”, Sawamura sighs, running his hand through his hair. 

Iwaizumi stifles a little chuckle - yeah, that was the kind of vibe he got from the young prince. _Opposites do seem to attract one another,_ he thinks. 

A fresh breeze picks up and they all collectively shiver.

“Let’s get back inside”, Azumane suggest and nobody objects. So they scurry back into the smith’s shop, Iwaizumi pressing the sword happily to his chest.

Sawamura ushers him to take a seat and after he hesitates for a second, he takes the time to examine the scaffold a little closer. It is made from hardened leather, the foot and the top reinforced with steel and another, smaller grandidierite inserted at its centre.

Azumane puts down four tiny glasses on the table, then he gently sits down as well. His partner meanwhile eyes both bottles, that Sawamura brought from the castle, critically, before choosing one and drawing a tiny knife from his belt. With a skilled motion, he cuts off the wax seal, then twists off the cork with a loud _‘plop’._

“A _toast”,_ he declares vividly, pouring some kind of weird, greyish liquid into the glasses.

“Why don’t you make the first”, Sawamura smiles at Iwaizumi, drawing one of the four over to himself.

“Me?”, he asks surprised.

 _“Sure,_ guests honours”, Nishinoya falls down onto the bench at the wall. 

Iwaizumi looks down at the glass. _A toast…_ it is not like he has never been out drinking before but usually among the knights, one would toast to victory or to the king. Right now, however, neither felt right to drink to. There was no victory to celebrate and the king - he feels like that would be pretentious because it now technically includes himself. So what to toast to?

He is well aware of the three other men looking at him expectantly. 

_“Umn._ To… to _progress,_ maybe?”, he suggests uncertain.

“Sounds good enough”, Nishinoya slams his hand down on the table.

“To progress then”, Sawamura grins and Azumane nods solemnly, lifting their glasses. 

Iwaizumi feels the pressure drop from his shoulders in an instant and he follows their example.

The other men down the entire glass in one go and after a second to steel himself Iwaizumi does so too. The burn is imminent and so is the bitterness filling his entire mouth, sharp fume clogging up his lungs.

He bends over, wheezing and coughing. _What in tarnation’s name is this?_ If he didn’t see three other people drink the same liquid he would be convinced it was poison! _My god, it starts to taste foul._

Sawamura, sitting closest to him, whacks him on the back and reaches for the bottle.

“Better take the second right away. Takes a while to get used to the taste”, he explains.

Iwaizumi really would like to refuse, but he is awkwardly aware of the heavy blade across his knees. _Right,_ if this would have been free, it would have been too good and apparently his taste buds are the price he has to pay.

Trying not to gag too much, he takes the glass and squeezes his eyes shut tight. He wishes he had the chance to tell Tooru he loves him, one last time.

If anything, the bitterness gets even worse with the second shot, but to his amazement, after a few seconds, the foul taste starts to become sweeter and softer. It still stings in his throat but he blinks just as much in surprise, as to get rid of the tears.

“What... _what the hell is that?”,_ he asks, voice husky.

 _“Gin,_ made from juniper and rowan that grows in the highlands”, the other king tells him and Iwaizumi feels a shudder run down his spine, the same moment his face heats up. The other men chuckle a little at his reaction and Nishinoya refills their glasses.

 _Ah shit,_ he just made himself a laughing stock, _didn’t he?_

“Come on, you need to keep it going until the taste kicks in - first time is rough for everyone”, Sawamura takes a luxurious sip out of his own glass and fills Iwaizumi’s for a third time.

“I’m pretty sure it’s _already_ kicking in!”, he grunts in response, smacking his lips. His throat burns and he can’t decide if the increasing sweetness makes things better or worse. It is like he just drank syrup - _acid_ syrup.

Nishinoya leans forward a little and reaches for the bottle.

“All good things are three, or are ya gonna chicken out on us?”, he grins sharply.

 _“Noya!”,_ his partner scolds him. “You are being respectless”

But it is too late because Iwaizumi’s competitive streak is fueled and he squares his shoulders. He’ll be damned if this defeats him!

So he takes the glass and brings it up to his lips, maintaining eye contact with the smaller man.

For a moment he still hesitates, contemplating what would be more embarrassing. Backing down or risking to throw up and pass out. Then he remembers what Sawamura told him earlier. Make mistakes. _Oh, fuck it._

He downs the entire glass in one go and his eyes turn large. _Oh…_ it… it’s mild and clear, like water from a fresh dwell!

 _“Now_ the taste is kicking in”, Sawamura grins.

“To the common people - to one of us”, Nishinoya announces loudly and the three men toast again.

Iwaizumi feels his cheeks warm up further as he stares down at the glass in his hand.

“You gotta get past a certain threshold before the taste starts to blend in”, the older king refills the next round, but now everyone seems to be far more relaxed and moves on to gentle sips.

Iwaizumi is actually very glad because while the taste gets better and better by the second, he is still certain if he has to ex one more glass the sharp alcohol will get the better of him.

“So, what did you do to become king, _eh?_ Wrong time, wrong place, too slow to run and hide?”, Nishinoya gleams at him, clearly expecting some kind of gossip.

“No _urm,_ well, _sort of._ It was a bit messy”, Iwaizumi scratches the back of his head.

“Come on, we were _this_ close to starting a rebellion. We’re used to messy”, the short man laughs, holding up his hand, thumb and index finger a hair’s width apart.

“It pretty much came out of nowhere”, he admits and sighs, “As in: That was absolutely _not_ the plan, but the hell anyone ever tells me anything”

The other man grins, wide and toothy, then he glances at Sawamura, waggling his eyebrows. “Seems to be a theme”, he smirks.

Iwaizumi turns to the other king, who lifts his hands defensively. “Don’t get me started. It was probably for the best I had no clue about what was going on, or I would have had a stroke”, he shakes his head, taking another sip out of his glass.

“We all would have - I think _I actually did”,_ Azumane mumbles, a shiver running down his spine.

“Wait, I thought you started a rebellion?”, Iwaizumi aks.

“We were about to, but luckily it wasn’t necessary in the end”, the other man shrugs. “But honestly, the whole chaos started way earlier”, he then sighs.

“Yeah, the moment you accidentally started dating the Crown Prince, I think that was when everything went downhill”, Nishinoya mocks him.

The king groans and shoots his friend a deadpan look. “Please don’t remind me”

Iwaizumi feels his jaw drop. “You… _what?”,_ he asks perplexed.

“Suga had to sneak out of the castle, so he never told anyone of us who he really was”, Sawamura shakes his head. “We knew him for almost two years before we found out”

 _“How?”,_ Hajime breathes out, astonished. At least he had known, _who_ he was having a problematic and massive crush on.

 _“Well”,_ the older man scratches the back of his head. “I found out when I was arrested in the middle of the day, dragged before the king, accused of abducting the crown prince and about to be executed for high treason - lucky me, Suga showed up in time and saved my confused, sorry ass”, he sighs, with a little chuckle. 

_“Fuck”,_ Iwaizumi breathes out.

“Yeah, fuck indeed”, the other man laughs. “Astonishingly that was only the third worst day in my life”

Hajime gapes at him. If that had happened to him he would probably still chicken out over it, but the other king talks about it like he is telling them, what he had for supper the last day. 

“How are you so relaxed about this?”, he asks.

Sawamura looks surprised, then he stares down at his glass, thinking. After a couple of seconds, he lifts it to his lips, takes a long sip and smiles softly. “It’s like I said before. Some problems only seem big at the time, but once you put them into perspective, you realize how many things there are, that are so much more important. Sure I was shocked, but in the end, it doesn’t change anything. Not my feelings for Suga, not my wishes to help the people and not anything else.”

 _“You’re so sappy”,_ Nishinoya groans and his friend swats at him.

“Oh _shut up!”,_ he snorts.

Azumane sighs. “Stop it you two”, he scoffs and saves the bottle on the table before his partner can knock it over as he jumps to his feet, towering on the bench.

“Asahi, _look at him:_ They are so picture book like, with their tragic love story, it’s almost disgusting!”

“It’s not like I _asked_ for it”, Sawamura defends himself, but Iwaizumi notices a faint blush creeping up his face.

Then Nishinoya, obviously getting friendly with the alcohol in his system, turns to target him. 

“His one was supposed to be _dead,_ for Pete’s sake! Can you even get any more cliche!?”, he demands to know.

“Sit down and drink, Noya”, Sawamura laughs, then he turns at Iwaizumi. “I am intrigued though”

Hajime scoffs as he thinks about it. “It wasn’t _that_ much of a big deal, Tooru just decided to make it one and he has a tendency to drastic measures, so he faked his own death”, he grumbles, arms crossed over his chest. _“Fucking idiot,_ plunging everything into chaos! So I had to go find him and kick his ass”

 _“Nice”,_ Nishinoya nods with a thumbs up.

Azumane shoots him a dark, sharp look, mumbling. “You are _unbelievable!”_

Sawamura chuckles. “Sounds like some adventure”

“The sooner I can forget about that nightmare, the better”, Iwaizumi sighs. 

_“That’s a statement”,_ the other king snorts in agreement and refills the next round.

They kill the whole bottle and talk about more mundane things. Iwaizumi realizes how long it has been since he last managed to relax like this.

He sure enjoys dozing off once in a while, with Tooru leaning against his chest, but those tender moments of peace are rare and never lasting long. Most evenings he has barely enough time to change clothes before falling face-first into the sheets and passing out.

But even the little peace he gets is different from this. He always has Tooru around and he is pretty certain, that his husband, no matter how much he loves him, would not approve of foolish drinking campaigns like this one.

 _“Iwaizumi, run!_ Run and drink as long as you still can”, Nishinoya laments, face resting on the table, cheeks rosy from the gin. “Before you get old, your bones start to ache and your hair turns grey”

“Come on Noya, we are not _that old_ yet”, Sawamura laughs.

“Yes, you are just _weak”,_ Azumane, having exponentially gained in confidence over the last hour, deadpans.

 _“Traitors!”,_ his partner calls out drunkenly. “Traitors _everywhere!”_

Iwaizumi grins. “Alright, so who do I have to challenge if I want Karasuno’s finest?”, he asks.

 _“Suga”,_ Sawamura and Azumane say in unison, then the later adds. “And I would strongly advise against it if you value your liver at all. He’s a barrel without bottom”

The king just nods into his glass. “I am afraid, I married a monster”

Iwaizumi huffs, scratching his chin. He would not have guessed the silver-haired man to be a drinker. He looks rather fragile. But then again - if looks were everything this world would be a whole different place.

 _“Hah,_ you tell me”, he snorts. _Mine is literally a demon._ But of course, he does not speak that last part out loud.

The other two men show varying states of amusement. Azumane gentle and compassionate, Nishinoya outright shiteating.

 _“Which reminds me._ We should head back. Can’t leave the monsters alone for too long”, Sawamura sighs, a little sad.

Iwaizumi too feels a little sting. He knows the other is right, but he still would have liked to stay a little longer.

“You really should. I have a feeling that it will rain later tonight”, Azumane nods, absentmindedly rubbing at his right shoulder.

“Well then”, and Sawamura hoists himself up. “We better get going”

 _“Oh,_ before you leave. Your shield is still here”, Azumane calls out and gets up. 

While they put their cloaks back on, the tall man rustles through the workshop and returns with a heavy-looking, circular shield.

 _“Ah,_ I have missed you my precious”, Sawamura takes it and puts his arm through the straps, flexing his hand around the grip, face brightening up.

Iwaizumi can’t help but notice, the elaborate orange and black and seemingly very recently refreshed paintings, forming tranquillizing patterns until they meet with the no less artfully crafted steel reinforcements around the rim and the centre of the round-shield. _Warpaint_ \- wild, untamed and fearless.

Iwaizumi is _torn_ between excitement and dread when he thinks about ever standing against the crow warriors.

“And tell Suga he is not off the hook yet”, Nishinoya hollers as he smashes his fist playfully into the kings back.

 _“Sure sure,_ Noya”, the dark-haired sighs, grin tucking at his lips, then he turns to Iwaizumi. “Shall we?”

Hajime nods, then he turns towards the two smiths and bows as deep as he can. “Thank you. It was a pleasure meeting you”

“Please don’t. The honour is all ours”, Azumane muses, with a bow of his own.

“I am starting to understand the royal bunch better every day. Having people at your feet is a nice feeling”, Nishinoya laughs out loud, then he smacks Iwaizumi over the back with drunken enthusiasm. 

“I feel like every second sentence of mine is an apology for you, Noya”, Azumane sighs, visibly deflating.

“You don’t need people to bow, for them to be at your feet _you giant tree-person,_ so let me have my fun once in a while”, Nishinoya exclaims.

“I’ll send Tobio and Shoyo over tomorrow”, Sawamura says and gives his friends a little wave as he opens the door. 

A gust of cold wind blows into the warm room.

“Sure and now _get the hell out,_ before we freeze over”, Nishinoya calls.

Iwaizumi grins, then he bows again and steps outside, hand firmly holding on to his new sword.

Sawamura follows him on the heel and pulls the door closed behind them, taking a deep breath of the cool night air.

“Sorry about them. I really didn’t think we’d stay this long. They can be a hand full”, he chuckles as they hurriedly make their way back towards the castle, towering over the rooftops.

 _“No,_ it was really nice! I don’t know when I last had fun like this”, Iwaizumi honestly tells him, then he looks at the blade in his hand. “And thank you too!”, he bows again.

“Don’t sweat it, we commoners have to stick together and besides: I have a feeling one day you might be glad for a blade like this”, the other king looks at him out of the corner of his eyes.

Hajime furrows his brows. “What do you mean?”

Sawamura shrugs. “I don’t know if you believe in legend, but rumours have it that crow steel has certain qualities. Lore is, it repels everything arcane and can wound things without corporeal form. I don’t know much about these things but as an old saying goes: _Every myth has truth at its core”,_ his voice is earnest and sincere.

Iwaizumi feels like someone has punched him. Suddenly all happiness is gone and every muscle in his body goes stiff. _It repels everything arcane?_ He swallows hard, the blade having grown heavy in his hand. This blade… could it kill Tooru? _Did they know?_ Was this not a gift but a tool to get rid of his husband, like the old king’s silver dagger?

He knows his pulse has started to race and his throat seizes uptight. Suddenly he feels like the metal of the scaffold is burning his hand and all he wants is to hurl the sword as far away as he can.

_They know! They know about Tooru! They know it is not just some rumour, they know he really is inhuman._

The thoughts chase each other in his head. He has to get back to that castle, he has to make sure, he is okay!

His hand has started to shake and he feels ice cold to the core.

“But it’s just some old stories. All the arcane stuff, I mean. What’s real, however, is the long durability and I thought a knight-king might have use for an unbreakable blade”, the other man continues, tone light and casual once more.

Iwaizumi releases a shuddering breath. _They don’t… they can’t…_ he sags a little in relief. 

His eyes wander over to Sawamura, to the gentle line of his face and the friendly turn of his eyes. And he knows that it might be foolish, but something deep in his guts tells him, this man isn’t the kind of person to weave sinister plots. If he had a problem with either Iwaizunmi or Tooru, he’d face them head on, weapon in hand!

His hand clenches around the scaffold he is holding and he forces himself to relax. _You are overthinking, idiot!_ , he scolds himself. _Everything is fine…_ it just has to be.

“Is it really? Unbreakable?”, he asks, doing his best to sound casual.  
Sawamura grins at him, showing off a lot of teeth. “Well, let me put it this way: I’ve never seen a blade break and I trained with Asahi, Nishinoya and Tanaka. If _they_ can’t damage stuff, I think it’s fair to call it unbreakable”, he muses.

Iwaizumi nods to himself, taking a deep breath.

The temperatures have dropped further and the cold sting in his throat clears his head. He lets his gaze wander and begins to marvel at the pitch-black sky and the myriads of stars twinkling at them from the clear and cloudless void. He wonders if it really will rain. There is not a single cloud in sight anywhere.

They enter through the main portal and walk into the shadow of the fortress.

Iwaizumi feels relief trickle down his shoulders once they are back inside and leave the icy breeze behind.

Sawamura deposits the cloaks back in the cabinet he got them from and they turn towards the great hall.

“Your Highness”

Iwaizumi flinches as the unknown man addresses them. He had not seen him, in the shadow of the stairs.

Sawamura looks up. “Oh Ennoshita, is something the matter?”, he asks.

The man steps into the light and Iwaizumi notices his clothing. He is wearing an altered, more elaborate version of the servants’ attire and now bows before them.

“No, I merely sought to inform you, His Grace and the Honoured Guest have retreated to the tea room”, he speaks.

 _“Figures”,_ Sawamura snaps his fingers. 

“They asked me for refreshments. Can I bring you something as well?”, the man continues.

The king thinks for a moment, then he shakes his head. “I am fine with water”, he tells the servant and looks at Iwaizumi.

“Me too”, he agrees.

“Oh, but can I ask you to put this in the armoury?”, Sawamura pulls the shield off his arm and the man takes it.

“I will make sure it finds its place”, and the man bows again before he turns and vanishes down a hallway.

Instead of the room they dined in, Sawamura now leads them up the stairs the servant came from and up two flights.

A couple of turns later, they halt in front of a heavy-looking door and Sawamura gives it a gentle knock, before pushing open and offering Iwaizumi to enter first.

The room behind is illuminated by an eagerly burning chimney fire on the right-side wall. The left wall is covered by a rack, filled with books and trinkets. The side across from them is dominated by a row of windows facing the garden. Most space, however, is taken up by a collection of comfortable looking recliners and sofas, with a low table in the middle.

Sugawara is residing in one of the chairs while Tooru confidently lounges back on one of the two sofas.

 _“Oh,_ you are back”, the silver-haired king looks up and gives them a welcoming smile. “Please, have a seat - you must be frozen. I can call for someone if you wish something hot to warm you up”, he offers Iwaizumi.

“We actually just ran into Ennoshita”, Sawamura answers as he pulls the door closed behind him and walks over to his husband.

He bends down, cupping his face and gives him a sweet kiss on the lips.

 _“Is that so”,_ Sugawara muses, with a gentle smirk, then his brows draw together. “I sure hope that you taste of my favourite gin for no reason at all”, he scoffs with a little pout.

 _“Forgive me,_ my love, but I had to offer some reimbursement for your absence. You know how Noya gets”, Sawamura chuckles with a little flash of guilt.

His husband sighs, flicking his fingers against his shoulders. “Was it at least worth it?”, he looks up and over at Iwaizumi, eyes scanning him until they come to rest on the sword he still holds. “I hope it fits?”

 _“Perfectly._ Thank you for your generosity”, Iwaizumi nods and bows again, solemnly.

The king nods and gives him a soothing smile. “I am glad to hear that. _May it serve you well!”_

Tooru raises his eyebrows at him as Hajime walks over to him and sits down next to his husband, leaning the sword gently against the table.

“So you were getting drunk while I am defending the honour of our kingdom?”, his husband mumbles just loud enough for Iwaizumi to hear as he leans over and puts a kiss against his cheek.

 _“Shut up._ I deserve some fun and I build a good reputation for us”, he mumbles back just as quietly and Tooru huffs.

Sawamura falls down into the chair next to his husband and Iwaizumi notices how his hand comes down on the others armrest, where their fingers lace absentmindedly like they are drawn towards one another.

Feeling a little awkward he gives Tooru another look. But his partner acts before he can even think about if they should do that as well and flicks his tail gently against Hajime’s thigh. It is masked and invisible but Iwaizumi knows that it is there and he relishes the familiar pressure, finding reassurance in it.

“So, what did we miss?”, Sawamura asks his husband.

“Not much. We wanted to wait for you before talking about… _the main issue_ at hand”, Sugawara says.

“Ah, _I see”,_ the other king hums, thoughtful.

“Quite indeed”, Tooru nods and Iwaizumi swallows. So back to politics, he guesses.

“I have to admit, I was quite surprised when Tobio asked if he could live with us”, Sugawara smiles warmly. “Your brother is a fine young boy and we would love for him to stay”

Hajime can practically feel how Tooru’s desire to complain about Prince Tobio fights with his pride and the need to maintain a royal appearance. So he softly brushes his knuckles against his partner’s thigh.

The other seems to appreciate his gentle support and works up a brilliant smile. “Well he is truly _something”,_ he chirps. “But nevertheless just a child”, and his eyes turn sharp.

The two men across from them exchange a look, then Sawamura goes on.

“I understand your reluctance, King Tooru, _I really do._ But as you said, he is a kid and he needs friends his age, as well as a chance to fool around a little”

“What he needs are a secure environment and tight education”, Tooru narrows his eyes.

“Forgive my bluntness, your Highness. I hope you will not take offence in my words but you are barely an adult yourself and while I do not doubt you possess great diplomatic skills, caring for children is something only time and age can teach”, Sugawara replies, a sharp ring to his voice. “Your father can _barely_ be called that and while you have grown into your new role well, Tobio still needs someone to guide him”

“That _someone_ being _you?”,_ Oikawa raises his eyebrow, sharp and daring.

Sugawara sighs and Sawamura gives his hand an appeasing squeeze, then the silver-haired man answers: “I see your problem, but the only thing we want, is for your brother to have a chance at being himself and effectively rise to his full potential”

Tooru leans back into the sofa, with a thoughtful hum.

But whatever his response would have been, it is undercut by a knock on the door.

 _“Enter”,_ Sugawara calls out and the dark-haired servant they encountered in the main hall steps into the room, balancing a tablet with beverages.

He puts down a can and flat cup in front of his king and pours some hot, golden tea for him, then he sets an artfully formed, steaming jug for Tooru and two glasses for Iwaizumi and Sawamura.

After pouring them water from a metal canteen he bows and asks: “May I serve you with anything else?”

A moment of silence follows and since no one makes any more orders Sugawara shakes his head. “Thank you Ennoshita, that would be all”

The man bows again, then he leaves and for a few more moments there is silence, only interrupted by everyone taking slow sips.

“Please understand, that I simply wish to make sure, my brother is safe and sheltered. And your… _record of conflicts_ is giving me doubts as to whether or not, time is ripe for him to leave Aoba Johsai”, Tooru strikes a gentler tone as soon as he puts his jug down. Iwaizumi eyes the dark liquid inside with interest. _It smells funny._

The crow kings exchange a glance, then Sawamura begins to smile.

“Well, you will be soothed then. We are actually in the midst of striking a peace deal with Nekoma”, he explains, with a gentle, offering hand wave.

Iwaizumi almost chokes on his water. _What?_

Tooru seems to be just as startled as he is, leaning forward.

“Forgive my surprise but how the sudden change?”, he questions.

Sugawara takes his time to finish his sip of tea and put down his cup, then he explains: “Nekoma has experienced a recent change in leadership. The old king has passed away and his grandson, _King Kenma_ is now ruling with guidance from an advisory council. He is little older than Shoyo and Tobio and we thought that perhaps a fresh and unbiased mind would be easier to negotiate with. So we arranged a meeting”, he straightens his shoulders proudly.

“Tobio seems to admire King Kenma a lot. We could barely keep him from following His Highness back to Tokyo”, Sawamura chuckles and Oikawa grows stiff as a salt pillar.

Iwaizumi knows that the dark-haired royal is going to be in _one hell of a trouble,_ as soon as Tooru gets his hands on him.

“Is that so”, his husband presses out, smile forced. “How interesting! And may I ask what _exactly_ swayed the cats’ minds? The last thing I recall, you were stuck in futile battles”

“Oh, it was rather _simple._ As it turns out, our objectives were not as contradicting as we believed them to be and both we and Nekoma have other matters that require our attention more than a patch of wild forest. Their expansion on the Tokyo continent has locked them in a bitter rivalry with Nohebi, that seems to be more pressing and topical than our ancient disagreement”, the silver-haired man makes a little, loose gesture, then he picks up his cup once more and takes a gentle sip.

 _“I see._ May I ask what kind of agreement you have reached?”, Tooru bows his head slightly in acknowledgement.

“The forest will remain crow land but Nekoma will provide an ambassador to aid in communication and in governing the… _local populace”,_ Sugawara hesitates as if he was looking for the right word.

“We are actually invited to a friendship tournament in three weeks time where we’ll sign the treaty. The kids are already super excited for the trip - it’s gonna be a valuable experience for both of them”, Sawamura hums contently.

It is that last one, that causes Tooru’s expression to derail entirely. Iwaizumi feels his chin drop a little. _Oh yes, that will be a great experience, if prince Tobio lives long enough to take the trip._

Their faces must say enough, since Sawamura sighs deeply and leans forward, face buried in his hand.

“He didn’t say anything, _did he?”,_ he asks.

“Not _directly,_ no”, Iwaizumi answers before Tooru can flip his shit.

 _“Those kids”,_ the other man groans and Sugawara chuckles softly.

“Well, _as you can see,_ Tobio is learning eagerly with us and you do not need to worry about his well being”, the silver-haired muses gently, lips quirking up.

Hajime knows how much Tooru hates being outmanoeuvred, but to be totally honest: They lost that one - not like this was a competition or anything, to begin with.

He reaches for Oikawa’s hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. His husband turns towards him, eyes burning with defiance but Iwaizumi runs his thumb over his knuckles and tries to convey a silent message: _Let it go… at least for now. Give it a chance._

The other’s eyes narrow and Hajime can see the gears turning and working behind the furrowed forehead.

“I will take you by your word, king Sugawara”, he eventually speaks and slowly turns back to their hosts. “But that does not eradicate my concerns. I plead you not to take this personal, but neither the future nor peace are carved in stone. They are more like a shoreline: Everchanging and subject to... _storms”,_ he leans back, casually and oh fuck, Iwaizumi knows that confident manner. Tooru is hatching some kind of plan. “While I hope for our nations to have a friendly and beneficial relationship, handing my brother, _a Prince of Aoba Johsai,_ over to you might send some confusing signals and muddy the lines of alliances and loyalties”

The two other kings exchange a long look before Sawamura goes to reply: “I am not entirely sure what you are proposing, King Tooru”

“Well”, Oikawa makes a generous handwave. “My proposal would be just that: _A proposal”_

 _“No”,_ Sugawara’s answer is sharp and all friendliness has dropped from the man’s face.

The rapid and harsh tone of voice takes Iwaizumi by surprise. The idea is not that digressive, even _he_ can see that.

“It would benefit both our countries, if we had a more official alliance, Your Highness, _surely_ you can see that. If my brother was to marry Prince Shoyo, we’d have a common ground and clear definition of interests and authorities. And as you said: They _do_ get along quite splendid”, Tooru pushes his offer, with his best negotiation-voice, conveying friendliness. 

“I said _no”,_ Sugawara shots him down. “I will not force my son, Tobio or anyone else into a marriage they may not want, never mind _understand_ the consequences of. They are too young to make that decision!”, he snaps and makes it very clear, that this is his final stance. “And frankly, you should understand that more than anyone else. If I recall correctly, you were everything _but pleased_ about your first engagement!”

Tooru’s eyes narrow into sharp slits, all softness dropping from him as well.

Iwaizumi feels the concern and alarm grow in the pit of his stomach and when he looks over to Sawamura, he can see the king has furrowed his brows in agitation.

“So you expect me to let foreign rulers form my brother to their will, while he still holds a claim to _my throne?_ I may be young but I am neither _naive nor stupid!”,_ Tooru points out sharply.

“I think we are getting a little off track”, Sawamura lifts his hand pacifyingly, a pool of calm next to the thunder rolling between his husband and Oikawa. “Nobody is trying to influence anyone, all we -”

But he is undercut by his husband’s icy return: “You may be a king but that does not make you an adult. Tobio is a fragile child and he needs someone to take care of him. _He deserves to be loved._ Something I frankly doubt, you’d be capable off, given that all _you_ seem to think about is influence and power”

Iwaizumi is ready to jump to his feet and keep his husband from leaping at the other king. Oikawa looks like he has been punched and Hajime knows that this comment hit right where it hurt the most. Frankly, he is more than shocked, that the older man has lost his composure like this.

In the few, deadly silent seconds it takes Oikawa to stomach the critique, the door opens and something tiny and orange hushes into the room.

For a moment Iwaizumi thinks that, _somehow,_ Prince Shoyo has grown _even smaller,_ then he realizes, he is faced with an even more miniature version of the prince, wild orange curls tamed into twin pony-tails and skirt flying behind the tiny girl.

The Karasuno kings react both at the same time. Sawamura jumps to his feet and intercepts the fiery cloud of hair, grabbing her around the waist and easily lifting her up.

 _“Natsu!”,_ Sugawara calls out.

 _“Hey,_ what are you doing here?”, his husband scolds the girl, who lets out a delighted squawk.

“I couldn’t sleep. Can you read me a story?”, she exclaims, tiny arms flapping eagerly.

Iwaizumi is left confused. There is _another_ one. And he thought that Prince Shoyo was a lot to handle. Tooru is gawking at the tiny girl, too.

“Hajime, am I hallucinating? _Is this a nightmare?”,_ he whispers and Iwaizumi elbows him in the ribs.

 _“Shut up,_ _Shittykawa,_ they can hear you”, he gnashes as quietly as he can.

“Natsu, we have guests”, Sawamura muses, turning towards them.

The girl cooks her head to the side. “Are you important?”, she asks them bluntly.

“They are _very_ important, little rebel”, Sawamura chuckles. “Those are the kings of Aoba Johsai, King Oikawa and King Iwaizumi”, he tells her and the girl begins to beam.

“Are you Tobio-San’s family?”, she brightens up.

Tooru gapes at her for another second, before Iwaizumi discretely elbows him once more and he jumps back to attention, clearing his throat and straightening his shoulders, back to his royal posture.

“He is my younger brother. And who do we have the honour with?”, he answers her question.

“This is Princess Natsu. Shoyo’s little sister”, Sugawara answers for his daughter as he stands up and takes her from his husband, who gently hands her over.

But the tiny girl uses the loosening of the grip on her and wiggles free, jumps to the ground and darts over to the sofa until she is practically leaning against Iwaizumi’s knee for support, stretching to her tiny toe tips.

“You look strong”, she tells him sincerely.

Iwaizumi feels a little blush creeping up his cheeks. _“Umn… thank you,_ Princess”, he smiles.

“My Dad is stronger though!”, she factually announces and a sly grin works its way up Sawamura’s face.

“I _erm... yes,_ that could be possible”, Iwaizumi stutters, slightly confused with how to react.

Apparently satisfied by his answer she turns to target Tooru next and crooks her head to the side. Then, before anyone can stop her, she has climbed up onto the sofa in between them, announcing: “They are _pretty!”,_ and enthusiastically reaches into his soft brown hair.

Oikawa lets out a loud, wailing _yip_ and Iwaizumi feels his chin drop. To everyone else, it must look like this tiny girl just yanked his hair, but Iwaizumi knows she confidently and knowingly grabbed his horn.

 _“Natsu!”,_ Sugawara calls out, jumping forward, snatching his daughter back.

“You can’t do that! _Apologize”,_ he scolds her firmly, voice slightly higher pitched.

“But they are pretty!”, the princess protests, crossing her arms over her chest in defiance.

“Natsu”, the king’s voice turns sharper and more intense but remains overall gentle.

Eventually, after a long stare, the girl loosens up her posture and bites on her lower lip before orderly muttering. _“I am sorry”_

“N... no problem”, Tooru stutters in response, hand running through his hair, eyes still blown wide in confusion. “I accept your apology”

That seems to settle that and the little girl brightens up instantly, tucking at her father’s shoulder.

“Can you read me a story now?”, she asks.

“Oh, Natsu. I can’t, we are still talking about important things”, Sugawara's eyes soften.

“But _I am bored._ Yachi-San won’t let me go play”, she whines at him.

Sugawara sighs. “My little whirlwind, did you run away again?”, he asks her sternly, tone undermined by how he lovingly brushes back a wild strand of orange hair.

Before the princess can answer, the door bursts open further and another small girl appears. 

_“Princess!”,_ she wheezes, out of breath, then her eyes fall on the kings and her face turns pale. It turns even whiter, then gains substantially in green, as soon as she spots Iwaizumi and Oikawa and straight out throws herself on her knees. “I am terribly sorry, Your Highnesses, I am so, _so, so sorry”_

The girl has short blond hair and is wearing another alteration of the servants’ attire. She seems to be of small build, but if Iwaizumi had to guess, he would put her in the same age range as the princes.

“Don’t worry, Hitoka, we know she is a hand full”, Sawamura chuckles, walking up behind his husband, giving his daughter a fatherly look and his husband a kiss to the cheek.

 _“I am so sorry”,_ the girl throws herself deeper on the ground, much to the embarrassment of her king.

“Please, _get up._ You did nothing wrong”, he beckons her.

“She is just _so fast._ I only looked away for a second”, the blond girl mumbles, embarrassed by her obvious and public failure to keep an eye on the princess like she was clearly supposed to be. She gets back up on her feet, hands digging into her skirt.

 _“No worries”,_ Sawamura repeats, gently.

“Natsu!”, Sugawara scolds his daughter. “Why did you run away from Hitoka?”

“I want _you_ to read me a story!”, she answers, tiny hand slapping down against his shoulder, insisting.

“My summer wind, _I would love to,_ but we still have important things to talk about and you are already over your bedtime”, he sighs, the regret sharp on his face.

Sawamura chuckles, backing away and sitting down on the armrest of his chair.

“But I want you to read for me!”, the little princess insists.

“Why don’t you like Hitoka-San reading you stories”, the king asks her.

“She doesn’t do the voices like you do”, the girl muffles, turning her head away.

The servant girl blushed even redder, mumbling. _“I am sorry”_

Iwaizumi is too stunned to think of anything else than the wholesome scene of the silver-haired king doing silly voices for his daughter while reading her a good night story.

Sugawara chuckles, beckoning his daughter to look at him. “Natsu, _my precious,_ have you _asked_ her if she can do voices for you?”, he prompts her.

 _“No”,_ the princess reluctantly admits, nibbling on her lower lip and the King runs his thumb over her cheek.

“Well I am sure, Hitoka will be happy to do so”, he smiles, turning to the servant girl, who bows instantly.

 _“Of course,_ I will do my best!”, she exclaims, stuttering.

“See?”, the king looks at his daughter, who leans back with a thoughtful expression.

“I guess I can give it a try”, she then, royally announces.

 _“There you go._ Now off to bed with you”, Sugawara gives his daughter a kiss on the forehead, then he gently sets her down on the floor and after giving his leg one last hug, she pads over to the blond girl, who takes her by the hand.

“I am so sorry!”, she bows again, so deep, Iwaizumi is a little afraid, she might fall over, then she closes the door after Sawamura gives them a little wave.

The dark-haired king stands up, wraps an arm around his husband, giving a loving peck to his forehead and guides him back to their chairs.

Iwaizumi feels heat rise up his face. It feels a little wrong to be witness to this intimate moment but he is also touched by the family scene having played out before them.

 _“I am sorry,_ she is a hand full, just like her brother”, Sawamura smiles at them, offering an excuse. “I hope she didn’t hurt you?”, he looks at Tooru.

Oikawa steels his shoulders, the shock perfectly hidden behind his royal mask once more. _“Oh no,_ I was simply surprised. I did not know you had a daughter”

“We try to keep her out of politics until she is a little older, just as we did with Shoyo. They deserve to be children, without the weight of a kingdom holding them down. _At least for a few years”,_ Sawamura explains gently.

Sugawara chooses to focus on his tea and Iwaizumi too takes a sip of water. 

He can’t help but think back, to the tiny prince he had met all those years ago, so young and yet so bitter, holding his head up proud, despite the weight of his crown. And he wonders, how much pain could have been avoided if Tooru had been given the chance to grow up free off his father's oppression and the burdens of being the prince.

He leans against his husband a little more and he tries to project some of his love for the half-demon onto him, beckoning him, not to return to the vile words they had wielded like swords before the tiny redhead had interrupted their conversation.

Luckily Tooru seems to understand, as he simply nods and reaches for his beverage too, taking a few deep, calming gulps.

“I see”, he replies, neutrally, but Hajime can still feel it boiling under the other’s skin, thoughts tumbling over one another.

 _“If you don’t mind,_ we have a long journey behind us and it is getting late. I’d like to think about our positions”, Tooru then continues, slowly, weighing every word.

“Sure, I apologise for keeping you up this long. You are right, it has gotten late”, Sawamura nods. “I will show you to your rooms”, he rises and Tooru follows him.

Iwaizumi takes a last look at King Sugawara, as he himself gets up to his feet and grabs his sword, but the other king just stares into his tea for another few seconds, before flinching back into the present. He looks up, giving them a court nod. “Have a pleasant nights rest”, he tells them, then glances at his husband, exchanging some kind of silent conversation entirely by eye contact.

Eventually, Sawamura sighs, but he doesn’t say anything and opens the door for Tooru and Iwaizumi.

He leads them into the maze of small corridors and winding staircases.

“How do you not get lost in here?”, Iwaizumi mumbles after ascending another few flat steps, watching the stone walls around them change.

 _“Actually,_ I still do, occasionally. Best stick to someone who knows their way around and should you ever get lost, work your way back to the main hall and start over. The routes are pretty straight from there, but using shortcuts like this can lead you to saints know where, if you don’t know the structures”, the older man chuckles and turns again, down a hallway that looks more familiar.

“Have you ever actually lost someone in here?”, Iwaizumi tries to joke, earning a displeased look from Tooru.

Sawamura let’s out a barking laugh. _“The kids,_ a couple of times, but fortunately Suga knows his way around better than anyone and always finds them. And Natsu seems to have his sense of orientation. Shoyo is a lost cause though - _probably my fault.”_

Now that window front definitely looks familiar and Iwaizumi thinks he knows where they are by now. And indeed one turn later, he spots the door of their chambers.

“May I ask, how this… _structure_ came to be? Surely nobody benefits from people getting lost”, Tooru wrinkles his nose.

“If you want any historic insight, I’m afraid you will have to consult my husband”, Sawamura tells him, then he pauses in front of the door. “But as far, as I recall, there was a period when Karasuno still had a very close relationship with Dateko and their traditions rubbed off on us. So it was considered fashionable for every new king to add to the castle - _sadly_ our masons and architects don’t seem to have been as structured as their northern counterparts and we ended up with this”, he explains with a general motion.

“I recall reading, that you are clashing with Dateko over whose kingdom is older”, Oikawa hums.

“Yes, and I am afraid that historians in a hundred years will still squabble about it. But what we can say with definitive proof is, that the original part of this castle, the southern spire, was a watch post long before the iron wall came to be. Now Dateko insists, that a single spire does not count as a castle and is therefore invalid, but if you ask me, they are just jealous and take this a little too serious”, Sawamura’s lips quirk up into a half-smile and he opens the door for them. 

“Thank you for the historic insight”, Tooru chirps and flounces into their rooms.

“Thank you”, Iwaizumi nods, then bows, holding his new blade reverentially and follows his husband.

“Have a good night. If you need anything, feel free to ring for someone”, Sawamura tells them and with a loud _‘click’_ the heavy door falls shut.

Hajime feels himself sag the very moment they are alone and takes a deep breath. He had not realized how tired he was!

 _“Really, Hajime,_ you need to straighten up”, Tooru clicks his tongue, glancing him up and down, red eyes gleaming, tail flicking behind him, the polished spirals of his horn reflecting the candlelight.

It makes Iwaizumi painfully aware of how much he missed his husband’s true form.

 _“Shut up”,_ but he nevertheless straightens his back and closes in on him, running his hand through the soft nestle of brown hair, then he trails his fingers along the horn’s sharp edge.

“Are you okay?”, he asks.

“Yes, but I was surprised. Do you think it was a coincidence?”, Tooru leans down his head to allow him better access.

“I really _hope_ it was, but somehow I feel like she knew _exactly_ they were there!”, Iwaizumi mumbles.

“Do you think the shrimp talked?”, Oikawa leans forward, until he is lounging against his chest, tail gently swaying from one side to the other.

“I don’t know. _Maybe…_ but there is no way to know for sure”, he sighs.

Tooru hums, then he straightens up and his eyes move on to the sheath in his hand.

“A _sword?”,_ he asks, reaching for it.

Iwaizumi takes a step back before he knows, pressing the blade to his chest.

 _“Hajime?”,_ his husband looks as surprised as Iwaizumi feels, the moment he takes in his own reaction. Perhaps the myth is stuck deeper in his head than he thought.

“I… _nothing,_ just… just be careful, okay!”, he breathes and hesitantly hands his partner the sword.

Tooru lets out an indignant huff. _“Oh please,_ I have wielded a sword before, Iwa-Chan!”

 _That is not what I mean,_ Iwaizumi thinks to himself and takes a step back, watching the clawed hand flex around the handle, then Tooru pulls the sword from its cover ------.

 _“Oh”,_ he gasps in surprise and awestruck he reveals the entirety of the black metal. “This… _this is Crow Steel”_

“Yeah, and I don’t want you to hurt yourself”

“Why would _that_ happen?”

“Because…”, Iwaizumi hesitates. _Is it really a good idea to tell him? But then again he deserves to know!_ “Because Sawamura mentioned something about it allegedly having arcane qualities. Kind of like silver”

Tooru freezes mid-movement, his eyes narrowing dangerously as he examines the blade in a new light.

“And he gave this to you?”

“Yes”

“As a present?”

“Yes”

“Did he say anything else?”

“No… only that it is a legend and that it’s stronger than normal steel”

 _“Hm…”,_ his husband hums, then he carefully reaches out and after a brief moment of hesitation, runs his claws over the black metal.

 _“Tooru?”,_ Iwaizumi steps closer to him, worry roaring in the pit of his stomach, pentagram in his neck prickling uncomfortably as he watches how the other examines his hand critically, before revealing it to him.

Iwaizumi feels his blood freeze.

The skin, where human hands melt into demonic claws, has turned red as if Tooru had touched something hot. It is not a full burn, but his skin is aggravated from the contact with the blade.

“Fuck”, Hajime breathes out.

“Well, this _certainly_ makes things interesting”, Oikawa muses, then he puts the blade back into its scaffold.

Iwaizumi takes it and then immediately sets the thing down on the table furthest away from them. He will have to return it. He can never wield an instrument like that!

“Iwa-Chan”, Tooru seems to have noticed his quickening breath and gently takes his hand. “Iwa-Chan, _I am fine”_

“We have to bury that thing!”, he exclaims.

“I think you should carry it”, his partner objects and Iwaizumi snaps around.

“You _can’t_ be serious!”

“Why not. Unless you planned to stab me in the back eventually anyway and were just looking for the proper tool, I see no problem with it! And besides, it would be incredibly rude if you didn’t”, Tooru crooks his head, tail curling up behind him. “The crows are very protective over their special metal. I think one could count the number of items made from it, that are in foreign possession, on one hand. In fact, I think there is a goblet made from Crow Steel in my father’s study but the only other blade I am aware of existing outside Karasuno is the ceremonial sword of Wakunan. I am certain Ushiwaka might have a dagger or two laying somewhere in his absurdly large treasury, but that is all I am aware of”

Iwaizumi takes a stuttering breath and looks over at the sword, swallowing back hard. It is beautiful, _god,_ it physically pains him, thinking about parting from it. But the bitter note of it potentially being used to hurt Oikawa - it weighs down his stomach like a stone.

_What if this had been on purpose after all? What if they did know?_

“Do you think they know?”, he croaks and Tooru stiffens.

“I can’t tell. Surely they have caught the rumours, but unless the shrimp _did_ spill the milk, they have nothing to back it up!”, he presses out, but Hajime can feel a slight worry, radiating from him, manifesting in the other’s tail lashing out wildly.

His husbands next words, however, surprise him. “But I suppose the crows are not going to play by the normal rules. This place smelled _weird_ from the beginning”

Iwaizumi turns around and sits down on the edge of the bed. “What do you mean, _it smells weird?”_

Tooru shrugs. “I don’t know. It just _smells!_ At first, I thought that it might be the climate, but everywhere else we have been, smelled normal. Dateko was also weird, but not like this. I think it’s all the stone that is irritating my senses”, he taps his talons against his chin. “Anyways, here is different. But I have nothing to compare it too. If I had to make a _wild_ guess, I’d say it smells like the forest, where you found me, _but also not._ I just can’t put my thumb on it, all I can say is, that Sugawara and this castle both don’t smell like they are supposed to!”

 _“Sugawara?”,_ Iwaizumi’s head perks up.

“Yes, he smells the most”, Tooru wrinkles his nose.

“What does he smell like?”

“I _just_ said, _I don’t know._ He simply doesn’t smell like most other humans”

“Then…”, an ice-cold shudder runs down Iwaizumi’s spine. _That wasn’t possible, was it?_

“I know what you are thinking and _no!”,_ Tooru makes a dismissive hand wave as he begins to walk up and down. “He is not like me, _that_ I can say for sure!”, he declares, then sighs. “I am new to all this as well, I don’t have enough reference smells to tell what it is, only that it’s _not entirely human._ But maybe that doesn’t mean anything”

His last sentence is unenthusiastic like he doesn’t really believe it.

But Iwaizumi has to admit, there is nothing they can do with that information, other than straight out ask the other king why he smells weird. It could give them answers or start a war. Not a coin, he is eager to flip.

“Iwa-Chan”, Tooru stops abruptly.

 _“What?_ What’s wrong?”, he jumps to his feet.

His partner blinks at him surprised. _“Nothing,_ just… will you walk a little with me, I want to stretch my legs”, he says slowly.

Iwaizumi deflates and flicks his fingers against his forehead. “Quit worrying me, _asshole!_ And you just heard Sawamura telling us this castle is a maze, literally five minutes ago”

Tooru rolls his eyes. “Not _far,_ just down the hallway. I saw a window there and want some fresh air”

“We have a balcony here”, and he deadpan points over to the glass door.

“Yes, but I also want to walk a little. _I_ did not get to do a pub crawl as you did!”

“Oh _shut up!_ His friends, the smiths, insisted we’d have a drink”, Iwaizumi mumbles, but he can feel his cheeks heat up.

And so he has to accept defeat and once Oikawa has masked himself once more, they step outside and turn down the hallway.

It is just as Tooru said, one turn and a long hallway later, they reach three high windows with stone stills, broad enough to comfortably sit on.

Iwaizumi fumbles open the levers and opens the one in the middle, a slight breeze ruffling his hair.

Tooru sighs quietly as he stretches out into the free.

Iwaizumi is about to ask him what he plans on doing now, just as his husband hastily retreats and puts a hand over his mouth, pointing out the window.

Carefully Iwaizumi risks a glance.

They are looking over the roof of one of the many editions to the fortress, that Sawamura talked about. It is flat and paved, pinnacles rising at its edge and when he looks to the right he spots both a door in the castle wall and stairs, winding around the outside of a tower and up onto some kind of battlement.

For a moment he is about to punch his husband and ask what he is chickening out over, then he spots him.

Sugawara is sitting between two of the pinnacles, with his back to them, staring into the distance and the moonlight illuminates his grey hair a bright silver.

Iwaizumi sternly looks at Tooru, silently asking if he had planned this but his partner just huffs quietly, rolls his eyes and shakes his head. Hajime actually believes him. That would be too much of a coincidence, _even for him!_

“Koshi!”, Sawamura’s voice calls them to attention and they spot the king emerging from the shadows of the battlement. “There you are. _Come to bed,_ you’ll catch a cold”, he adds softly as he walks over to his husband.

“I’m sorry, Daichi. I just needed to think”, the silver-haired answers.

“You aren’t thinking, you are _worrying”_

Sugawara sighs and allows his husband to cup his face and give him a soft peck on the lips.

“Are you not?”, he asks him.

And at that moment it hits Iwaizumi, that technically, they are spying on foreign rulers! He tries to pull away from the window, but Tooru’s grip on his hand is strong and his husband seems to be captivated by the scene below them, his eyes shining bright, pupils wide and sharp.

He suppresses a sigh, decency fighting with his own curiosity, but in the end, he gives in, guilt nagging at him.

 _“Thinking,_ yes. _Worrying,_ no”, Sawamura muses.

“They are so young, Daichi. And yet so scarred”, Sugawara looks back into the distance.

His husband doesn’t answer, just leans against the pinnacle next to him.

“Remember when _we_ were that young?”, the silver-haired asks, so quietly, Iwaizumi almost doesn’t catch it.

“We still had the worst ahead of us and no idea what was coming”, Sawamura sighs. _“Saints,_ we were _so damn bloody”_

“And now tell me you aren’t angry at what the world has done to them”, Sugawara speaks.

 _“Koshi”,_ his husband reaches out and takes his hand. “I _am angry_ alright, but not worried. Kids got their hearts in the right places”

Hajime exchanges a glance with Tooru the moment it dawns on him, that they are talking about _the two of them._

“Do you really believe that?”, Sugawara sounds critical, but also very tired. “After everything, do you _honestly_ still believe it?”

“Call me a naive romantic, but _I do._ I _have_ too! Because if I don’t, then what’s the point in anything anymore?”, Sawamura laces their fingers together and Sugawara falls back, leaning against him. 

“Look at us”, the dark-haired continues, “We had our storm way later and we still turned out fine. They have time to heal now and I believe they will manage well. You saw them”, he tries to strike a confident tone.

His husband sighs and turns his face into his side.

“I just can’t help but feel like I failed her”, he sighs.

Iwaizumi’s throat grows tight. He feels uncomfortable to listen to the two older men talk about them but now he is also captured and he can’t just walk away anymore. Did they really betray them? Was his sword a tool for slaughter? Did the kings actually plan on playing them and influencing Prince Tobio? _Or am I just paranoid?_

“I didn’t know her that well, but I _know,_ she wouldn’t blame you for anything, Koshi. You are doing _everything you can_ and we are taking care of Tobio, just like she wanted you to!”, Sawamura lovingly runs his hand over his husband’s shoulder, encouraging him.

_“But…”_

_“No buts!_ You have to think of yourself too”

“That doesn’t change the fact, that I am using Tobio as an excuse not to deal with him”, Sugawara turns away, drawing his legs under his body. “I made a promise and I failed to keep it”

Iwaizumi swallows back hard and he can feel Tooru by his side tense. _Dealing with them? Dealing with Tooru? A promise? Who was ‘she’?_

“You are not failing. Things have just been difficult with everything that has happened. You still have plenty of time to make things right”, Sawamura objects.

 _“Do I?_ And what about Tobio?”, the silver-haired king sighs.

“We’ll figure that out”, the other reassures him, then adds: _“Calmly,_ my love”

Sugawara’s head whips around. “Do you _agree_ with a proposal?”, he snaps. _“Whose side are you on?”_

Sawamura sighs. “Sugawara Koshi, _you are the light of my life,_ I love you more than anything else and I will always have your back. _Besides:_ I don’t want to force them to make that decision so early in life either”, he presses an appeasing kiss to his husband’s forehead. “But you _did_ snap!”

For a moment, the silver-haired looks like he is in for a lengthy debate, then he sighs and leans back against the other man’s chest.

 _“Fine”,_ he mumbles and Sawamura chuckles, removing his jacket and lovingly draping it around his husband.

 _“Here”,_ he mumbles softly and Sugawara blinks at him fondly.

For a few moments, they remain silent, bathed in moonlight and Iwaizumi clenches his hands again and again and again, to relieve tension. _What the fuck is going on here?_

“So how was your walk. How often did Asahi apologize?”, Sugawara changes the topic.

“It was nice. And I didn’t count, _why do you ask?”_

 _“Shame,_ I had a bet going with Tanaka”, Sugawara smiles, then he turns earnest again. “And Iwaizumi?”

Hajime tenses. The moment of truth. He gnashes his teeth and now it is Tooru who has to calmly run his hand over his biceps.

 _“Good kid,_ I like him. Has honest bones”, Sawamura hums. “Can use a bit more confidence in himself, but if I compare him to myself at that stage, he isn’t doing half as bad”

Iwaizumi exhales shakily, a weight he had not known how heavy it truly was, falling off his shoulders.

“You were a minor disaster”, Sugawara mocks his husband.

“Please don’t remind me”, the dark-haired sighs, smile audible. “And how was your talk. Are you sure now?”

Sugawara clicks his tongue. “I was always sure. Now I am _certain”,_ he says.

Sawamura inhales sharply. _“Ah fuck._ I kinda wished it was all just rumours.”, he mumbles. “What are you planning to do now?”

And the blood in Hajime’s veins freezes once again. _They do know!_ He looks at Tooru and his husband looks back in alarm. They have to get out of this place!

 _“Nothing”,_ Sugawara speaks slowly and they halt in surprise.

“He obviously doesn’t want to reveal himself to me, but he seems stable”, he goes on, taking a deep breath. _“She_ believed in him, so I will too until he gives me a reason not to”

 _“Okay”,_ Sawamura nods, face still in contemplation and Iwaizumi feels his hands starting to shake. He doesn’t understand anymore.

“I _trust_ you”, the dark-haired king winds an arm lovingly around his husband and the other man smoothes against his chest. 

For several moments, quiet drapes itself back over the castle, only accompanied by the silent rustling of the wind.

“What if you take the first step?”, Sawamura asks and his partner freezes.

Iwaizumi’s head perks up and Tooru by his side leans forwards in expectation.

“Maybe _but…”,_ the light-haired king hesitates, “... I am just not sure yet”

“I thought you were _certain”,_ Sawamura grins, cheekily and his husbands elbows him.

 _“Oh shut up,_ Daichi”, he huffs.

“I love you too”, the dark-haired smiles.

“Besides, he is still in pain. The fact, he is too scared to show himself to us, is enough to tell he’s not ready to trust anyone yet. Once he _does…”,_ Sugawara doesn’t finish his sentence. “I am curious but I don’t want to start any trouble either! Who knows what will happen if I pressure him. It might do more damage than good.”

His husband hums thoughtfully. “He must have revealed himself to Shoyo”, he points out and Tooru angrily bares his sharp teeth.

“I think only out of necessity. You know that it must have been _serious_ for him to act as he did”

“The one time, something like a _coup d'etat_ goes off _right_ in front of his face and he refuses to tell _anything_ about it!? I don’t know if I’m more worried he knowingly plunged headfirst into trouble like this or proud he is keeping his mouth shut, like he clearly promised to do”, Sawamura chuckles and scratches the back of his head.

Sugawara joins, smiling softly. “He’s growing up”, he gently assesses.

Tooru relaxes visibly. So the shrimp really had kept his promise, only that it didn’t seem to have helped much.

“Then _Natsu…?”_

 _“Yes,_ she must have seen him”, Sugawara sighs. “I am starting to get worried about her, Daichi”, he admits. “I always thought her awareness would lessen with time like it usually does with children but her sight is still clear. Clearer than _mine,_ even!”

“You _don’t_ see it?”, Sawamura perks up.

 _“No,_ I can only sense the veil, that must be hiding his true form, but I can’t see through it. He is experienced at masking himself”, Sugawara sighs.

 _“Hm…_ we’ll have to be careful with Natsu. I don’t want her to get into any trouble. Maybe we have to talk with her earlier than we thought”, the king sighs and runs a hand through his hair, as a fresh breeze picks up in strength and cold night air streams through the window.

Iwaizumi has to squint his eyes against the icy gust.

“We should go to bed. Today’s been long and Asahi said it would rain later”, Sawamura notes and his husband sighs.

“I’ll stay just a little longer. Don’t wait for me”

“Don’t be silly. _If you stay, I stay”,_ Sawamura hums and winds his arm tighter around his husband. “I love you”

“I love you too”

And so they remain, Sugawara sitting between the pinnacles, feet drawn under his body, leaning back against his husband, who holds him dearly.

It seems clear, they are done talking and Iwaizumi wobbly redraws from the window. Only now, he realizes how much his thighs and back are screaming, from leaning forward and standing entirely still the entire time.

He gently tucks Tooru back inside with him and closes the window as careful as he can, trying desperately not to make a sound, that would give them away.

_What in tarnation’s name is going on here?_

_“Iwa-Chan”,_ Tooru breathes, emotions fighting in his eyes.

“Stop. _Not here!”,_ Iwaizumi grabs him by the hand and pulls his husband back to their room, heart pounding in his chest so loud, he is afraid, it will wake the entire castle.

He closes the door behind him and fumbles with the lock. After a hissed curse, he decides to drop discretion and harshly puts the bar in its place with a loud _‘clunk’._

“What _the fuck_ is going on here?”, he then presses out, running his hands back through his hair.

“I don’t know, I really _don’t know”,_ Tooru seems just as aggravated, his disguise dropped and his tail is lashing so quickly, Iwaizumi’s eyes can’t follow the spaded tip.

“They… they _know!”,_ he eventually manages out and points into the vague direction of their hosts.

 _“Yes,_ and what is more astonishing, they don’t seem to have a problem with it!”, Tooru begins to pace, talons locked behind his back.

Iwaizumi exhales slowly. “Like your brother said! _Remember?_ He knows _something,_ he knows what is going on here! We have to get him to talk”, he decides.

 _“Indeed._ And the shrimp too, if we are at it”, Tooru agrees. “Apparently he knows how to keep it shut, although it did not use us much this time”, then he stops in his pacing. “Hajime”, he looks at him directly. “We need to talk to that tiny princess of theirs! She doesn’t seem to understand what she can do, so maybe she will talk more than the boys”

Iwaizumi bites down on his lower lip, thinking. He really doesn’t want to involve _a child_ into all of this, let alone pressure her! But then again, Oikawa _did_ make a point.

“Let’s try the princes first, then we can see if we even get close enough to her”, he decides on the middle ground.

“And we need to turn their library _upside down!_ If they know, they must have material on demonology”, Oikawa picks up his pacing again, wearing his planning face.

Iwaizumi knows he is focussing on work, so he doesn’t have to think about the range of everything they just overheard.

 _“Tooru”,_ he forces out the words. “You have to show yourself to them”

“And _admit,_ that we _eavesdropped?”,_ his partner snaps around. _“No!_ I am not doing that until I know _exactly_ what the hell is going on here”

“But you never will, unless you reveal yourself!”, Iwaizumi exclaims, hand flapping uselessly. “Sugawara said as much: He won’t act until he has seen your real form”

“And what if he _does_ and decides that he has to redeem his trust? What if he turns on us? We now know that crow steel can hurt me, Hajime! And I do not want to find out what it will do if I have a sword made from it stuck in me!”

“Are you _afraid_ of him?”, Iwaizumi’s chin drops slightly.

 _“No,_ but he is a risk I can’t calculate. If he is human, I can overpower him. But I can’t say for sure that he _is_ and if he _isn’t,_ then I don’t know how a fight would end!”, Tooru explains, then he goes back to pacing, grumbling to himself: _“It’s just as always._ We know too little to make fact-based decisions and I am starting to get _sick_ of it!”

Iwaizumi scratches at his neck, cursing the high collar once more.

“But they seem to trust us”, he mumbles, revisiting the dialogue in his head, trying to make sense of it. _What was the promise, Sugawara was afraid, he didn’t keep?_ It was clearly connected to Prince Tobio and Oikawa in some way.

How much did the Crows really know and how much was based on loose assumptions.

They had learned a lot and yet they were not a step closer than they had been before.

With a grunt Iwaizumi gets up to his feet and intercepts his pacing husband, wrapping his arms around him.

“Then we’ll try everything to get more information. We have a place to start now, that is _something!”,_ he firmly tells him, squeezing him harshly.

Tooru fights his embrace for a second, then he gives it up and sags against him, tired and exhausted.

“No one can hurt you as long as we are together. _I won’t let them!”,_ he declares. “That’s what matters the most, _that we trust each other_ and the rest of the world can _go fuck itself_ for all I care!”

“Iwa-Chan, what would I do without you?”, Oikawa mumbles into his shoulder.

“You’d be sitting in a fucks forsaken forest _in the middle of nowhere,_ eating dirt”, he informs his husband deadpan and Tooru’s tail weakly lashes out at him.

“You didn’t have to point that out _specifically,_ Iwa-Chan. It was a rhetorical question”

“Shut up or I’ll _punch_ you, _Shittykawa!”_

They go to bed and despite the thoughts screaming and chasing one another in his head, Iwaizumi falls asleep quickly, exhaustion kicking in once his body is at a horizontal.

In the middle of the night, he finds himself sitting upright, loud crashing from outside echoing through the room, the air vibrating with tension.

Another loud thunder rumbles through the air, the density cracks and for a moment the room is illuminated by a fulminant strike of lightning.

The drumming of heavy raindrops against the windows and the stone walls, lull him quickly, make him drowsy and sing him back to _mazy dreams about rowan trees, talking crows, mocking his hairstyle and translucent floating lights, calling his name, teaching him the secrets of the universe, which he won’t be capable of remembering, once he wakes, rendering the whole thing pointless._ And yet he can’t help but listen eagerly, hazily reaching for Tooru, drawing him closer, mumbling things he won’t recall and doubts are in any way coherent.

He drifts back to sleep slowly, but deeper than before, falling into the black gently, swaying like a feather.

**\---**

Like most days, Iwaizumi wakes up first. It’s just years of habit and drill, he might never shake.

He sits upright slowly, stretching his back and upper arms, blearily collecting himself.

 _You are at Karasuno castle, you have no idea what time it is and you have a shitload of work to do!_ , he reminds himself, then he swings his legs out of bed and looks over at Tooru, still hidden below the thick sheets, merely the nest of brown hair peeking from under the covers, suspiciously unevenly distributed. No wonder Iwaizumi is freezing.

 _“Oi,_ Shittykawa, get your lazy ass up”, he grumbles, poking at the blanket thief.

“No Iwa-Chan, not the good dinnerware”, his husband sleepily mumbles, nuzzling his way deeper into his pillow.

_What the hell is he dreaming about?_

“Tooru, it’s morning”, he tries again, with a more insistent prod.

He is rewarded with a soft and confused groan and a horned head groggily rising up, red eyes blearily blinking at him. _“What?”,_ Oikawa croaks, voice hoarse.

“Rise and shine, asshat!”, and now that he has his attention, Iwaizumi takes the covers and rips them back, exposing his husband to the cold.

The half-demon lets out a terrified whine, curling into a tight ball. “You are just _cruel”,_ he complains.

Hajime ignores him and stands up to take a look around. The sky outside is grey and a thin drizzle blurs his view over the cliffside. Iwaizumi shudders and squints his eyes. It is almost impossible to tell what time it is from the light outside and somehow that makes him extremely uncomfortable. He hates not knowing the time.

If they overslept and anyone tried to wake them, Iwaizumi at least didn’t hear it and nocking was all anyone could have tried since he didn’t unlock the door before they went to bed.

“What time is it anyway?”, Tooru sits up, rubbing at his eyes, yawning, jaws unhinged to a frightening degree, revealing his fangs in all their feral glory.

“I don’t know”, Hajime mumbles, taking a corked canteen from underneath the washstand, pours the water into a bronze bowl and pulls his sleeping shirt over his head.

He gasps sharply as he splashes the cold liquid over his bare chest and a shiver runs down his spine, then he steels himself and after taking a deep breath, he dumps his face into the bowl. The shock is imminent and clears his head off the last bits of sleepiness.

Blindly he feels for a towel under the washstand and once his finger close around cloth, he pulls his head out and begins drying himself off, performing a quick but thorough catlick.

Meanwhile, Tooru has managed to get out of bed and lumbers over to him, hesitantly poking his finger into the bowl and shivering.

 _“I can’t do this”,_ he shudders and rubs his biceps, then he grabs the edge of the metal and beings to whisper under his breath.

Iwaizumi can feel his neck hair rising and this time it is not because of the cold. Somehow first tongue makes his bones vibrate and wrapping the towel tighter around his shoulders he watches how the water begins to oscillate, first slowly, then faster until it throws bubbles, steam rising into the air.

“Tooru, _stop,_ you are boiling it!”, he warns his husband, who immediately releases the bowl, but it’s too late. The water is already happily simmering, steam fogging up the mirrors next to the washstand.

 _“Hm,_ well that wasn’t the plan. Do you think it will help, if I try to freeze it?”, he asks.

“You _know_ how to do that?”, Iwaizumi raises his eyebrows.

 _“In theory,_ it should do the trick just to reverse the fire spell, but I never _actually_ tried that”, his husband admits and thoughtfully taps his fingers against his chin.

“Well, it’s worth a try, but maybe not here”, Hajime critically decides. It is going to be hard to explain things if Tooru’s assumption is wrong, the spell backfires or he freezes the room over. Especially after the conversation, they overheard the previous night!

He takes the canteen and opens it. “Let’s just try _this_ instead”, he offers and pours cold water into the hot bowl. Luckily a lot of water has evaporated by now and with a quiet _‘hiss’_ the cold water starts to mix in. He keeps pouring until the bowl is full, then he carefully tests the water. “At least not _boiling_ anymore”, he assesses.

“But it’s still _so hot”,_ Tooru complains.

“Well, you brought this upon yourself, now _deal with it!”,_ Iwaizumi crossed his arms over his chest.

“Why did I ever fall in love with you!?”, his husband mutters grumpily, then he dips his hands into the water and carefully begins to splash himself.

“Because you’d be _lost_ without me”, Iwaizumi sighs and grabs a towel, wets it and begins to softly swipe over his partners back.

The half-demon arches his back into his movement and sighs relaxed.

They finish, dress and then just _stand_ there.

“Should we _ring?”,_ Iwaizumi asks, eying the orange cord in its tiny alcove.

Tooru hums thoughtfully. “Let’s see if we find someone in the main hall first - I don’t feel like being babysitted _just yet”,_ he gleefully chirps and Iwaizumi rolls his eyes.

But he follows his husband never the less and they turn down the hallway. As Sawamura said, finding the way into the main hall isn’t difficult and they almost manage to get to the top of the last staircase, with only one semi-heated discussion over the right turn to take.

What wonders Iwaizumi though, is that they do not encounter a single soul on their way, that is until they walk straight into the dark-haired servant.

The man stands in an archway as if he had been waiting for them, not in the least bit surprised by their appearance.

“Your Highnesses”, he bows before them. “I see that you have rested well. The kings send their apologies for not waking you, but after the long day, they believed it to be best, to let you sleep”, he informs them and Iwaizumi scolds himself inwardly. So they really _had_ overslept!

The man continues: “They furthermore regret not being available at this moment. His Majesty took off with the princes and His Grace is occupied with important issues that require his immediate attention. He instructed me to show you to the dining room and aid you in whatever request you have for spending the morning”, he tells them and Iwaizumi exchanges a look with Tooru.

He can’t help but feel like they are being left to themselves on purpose, but for what reason, he can’t tell.

“Thank you for your time. May I ask your name”, his husband puts on his best charming face.

“It is my honour to serve”, the man tells them, entirely unfazed by Tooru’s charm. “Your Highnesses can call me _Ennoshita_ if you wish to do so”

 _“Wonderfull,_ lead the way then Ennoshita”, Oikawa doesn’t falter even the littlest bit, apparently trying to sway the man with persistent friendliness.

He guides them down the way, they already know and into the room, they have eaten in the previous evening. The lower end of the table is set for them and they take a seat while waiting for the food.

Iwaizumi is more than eager to try the new cuisine while Tooru is a lot more sceptic, especially with the bread.

It is thick, heavy, rich in grains and has a dark, muddy brown colour.

“You can _kill_ someone with this!”, Tooru mumbles, quietly so only Iwaizumi can hear him as he examines a slice, critically.

“Quit complaining and try it, _it’s good!”,_ Hajime rolls his eyes, already on his third slice, only thought at what kind of creamy spread he could have next.

He is faced with seven little clay pots, each containing a white, thick paste, that he first believed to be butter, enriched with various herbs, but once he had tried it, he had found out it was slightly sour and didn’t quite have the right consistency for butter.

Tooru spares him a look over the tip of his nose, before going for his egg. _Well,_ more for Iwaizumi.

He also gets to try the weird, brown stuff, Tooru had the evening before and while his husband is fighting with the food, Iwaizumi can’t warm up to the drink.

It tastes a lot like coffee, but according to his husband _isn't,_ rather some weird cooked roots or something. He drinks half the jug, then trades it to Oikawa for two more slices of the other’s bread.

In the end, he feels absolutely _stuffed,_ having underestimated the heavy grain weighing down his stomach.

“See, I told you not to eat it”, Tooru makes a superior little handwave.

“I regret nothing, _coward!”,_ Iwaizumi returns and his husband gives him a little glare.

 _“So”,_ the other leans forward, taking a quick glance around to check if they are alone in the room. “What should we do?”

“I don’t know. We can’t get to the princes if they are out of the castle and I don’t want to pressure the princess before we talked to your brother and the shrimp”, Iwaizumi mumbles, quietly.

 _“Library_ then?”, Tooru suggests and Iwaizumi shrugs in approval. It is not like he has any other ideas.

And so his husband reaches for the tiny silver bell on the table and rings it. Ennoshita appears in the door within a minute, bowing as he enters.

“I hope you enjoyed your meal. Do you have any wishes on how to spend your day? His Majesty mentioned you take interest in the architecture of our castle. If you wish I can give you a tour”, he offers.

Iwaizumi looks at Oikawa. _Sound interesting,_ but…

“That sounds like a wonderful idea indeed”, Tooru nods. “But we would like to let our meal settle first. A good book would make fine enough company for us for right now”, he eloquently hints.

The other man dips his head. “I can show you to our library, unless you have brought your own literature, in which case I can show you to a more comfortable room to read in, than your chambers”, he offers them.

 _“Library_ sounds _just perfect”_

And simple as that, they are on their way, closer to hopefully getting some answers.

The Karasuno library is entirely different than their own. They have already been in here once, many years ago, during Oikawa’s grand debut, but they had only managed a quick peek and a hand full of hours to actually look for the right books.

Other than the one big room, with sky-high ceilings and shelves that you need ladders for, to reach the top, that he is used to, Iwaizumi finds himself in a room, reflecting the architectural mashup of the castle perfectly. The space itself isn’t a third as large as the Aoba Johsai library, but it is sure optimised with the main floor and three different, elevated platforms, looming into the rooms like balconies and connect via spiral staircases and narrow walkways along the walls.

He feels like he ended up in some kind of lunatic painting.

The smell of paper is heavy and the rows of shelves in all shapes in sizes, carved from every kind of wood one can imagine are illuminated by high and narrow windows, cutting through two of the walls like claw marks of a giant beast.

“Are you interested in a certain topic?”, Ennoshita asks them.

 _Yeah, demonology and I feel like we are going to search for ages in here,_ Iwaizumi thinks for himself.

“We are open to everything. Can you recommend a section?”, Tooru hums thoughtfully. “Something along the lines of _history or folklore perhaps_ \- I have heard Karasuno has a rich collection of fables and myths”

Ennoshita thinks for a moment, then he nods. “We do indeed. If that is what you are interested in, I advise keeping _to the left side and the eastern balcony”,_ he tells them, pointing out the areas. “You will find seatings below the windows”

“Thank you for the instruction”, Oikawa thanks the man, taking a step further into the room.

 _“One more thing,_ Your Highnesses”, the servant calls out and they both turn. “I am certain you are familiar with the use of a catalogue, but I’d like to point out one more thing. King Sugawara has taken up a great effort to organize this domain and has developed a system of cross-reference. Should you find a book that interest you and you wish to look for similar material, you will find a paper card attached to the inside of the cover, that will point you to the right number in the catalogue, which in turn will lead you to the book referenced. We are happy to provide you with as much time in this room as you wish, but I have to ask you, to make sure, not to lose any of those cards and always make sure you put them back into the right book”, he informs them with an intense look, still humble but making very clear, that failing to do so will result in seriously pissed off crows. 

“Oh, _quite spectacular._ We will be sure to be extra careful then”, Tooru nods and dips his head in acknowledgement.

“You have my thanks. If that is alright, I will now leave you to your grubbing and attend to my other responsibilities. If you need further assistance searching for a specific book, decide you have read enough or wish for refreshments of any kind, please ring the bell and I will return to you immediately”, Ennoshita tells them.

“Of course”, Tooru agrees and Iwaizumi nods too.

“Thank you for your help”, he says and the man leaves with another bow.

Oikawa straightens his back and Iwaizumi cracks his knuckles.

 _“Alright,_ let’s get to work!”

“This is _pointless”,_ Tooru groans, skimming the pages of the transcription of some old historic text. “It’s not even _remotely_ what we need”, and he dumps it on the pile of books he has deemed useless to their cause.

Iwaizumi sighs. He has just returned from bringing another staple of documents and weighty tomes back to their rightful places.

“Maybe we are going about this all wrong”, he thinks aloud and scratches his head, taking a look at the hourglass on the flat table next to his husband. They have only been here for one and a half hours, but every book so far has been a dead end.

Not to be confused with _wildly fascinating_ and if it were for him, he would plunge headfirst into the tales and folklore of ancient times. But that is not what they came here for.

They have found a hand full of mentions of magic or shadow creatures but no concrete information. Only vague tales and adventures of men, who set out to capture magnificent beasts only to return with some _lousy lizard_ and claimed to have discovered the descendant of a dragon to cover up their lunacy.

“And what do you suppose we look for _instead?”,_ Tooru asks him, leaning back, glancing out the window.

Iwaizumi follows him and his eyes scan the gardens below them, still greyed by the relentless drizzle.

“I don’t know, but maybe we need to be more specific”, he says.

“Hajime, we don’t even know _where to start,_ we can’t rule out categories or we’ll miss something!”, Tooru scoffs and he sighs.

“I know but… _look,_ we are just wildly flipping through books that sound like they _maybe, potentially or possibly_ contain a hint we can work with and obviously it _isn’t getting us anywhere!”,_ he runs his hand through his hair. “So what if we look only at, let’s say, _historic texts_ and move through _all_ of that. And if we don’t find anything, we move on to the next specific topic. If we do, then all the better, but either way we need a strategy!”, he tries to explain his thoughts.

For a moment Tooru looks like he wants to object, but then his face turns thoughtful and his tail starts to flick against the edge of the table.

“You are right, at least it can’t hurt to try. I will go through the rest of _these”,_ he pats the staple of random material by his side, “and you go ahead and start collecting everything you can find in hunting journals”

“Why that?”

“Because the closest thing we got so far is a mention of a lost hunter, who was found at the roadside, weeks after getting separated from his party, blabbering about _talking trees and a horned woman with glowing eyes, nursing him and then trying to drink his blood”,_ Tooru explains and leans forward, reaching for a book, bound in old, worn leather, titled: _‘The manifold encounters of Kenjirou Minami the travelling poet’._

Iwaizumi sighs and scans over the passage Tooru has marked with the books paper card.

He has to squint in order to decipher the shaky handwriting.

“Then I’ll narrow it down on reports from the north-eastern region”, he agrees, as soon as he has found the last-mentioned statement of place and consulted a map of Karasuno.

Taking the next staple of examined books, he puts a kiss onto his husband’s cheek, who is opening the next reading.

Tooru leans his face slightly against his lips, humming in appreciation.

Another hour later, they are little to no further.

Iwaizumi has found similar reports in a couple of journals but they don’t lead anywhere other than a royal decree that forbids hunting in those specific woods and mentions of a royal expedition in order to _secure the wellbeing of the people and circumvent harm to citizens and livestock through mysterious threats,_ not otherwise specified. As it turns out the area in which these incidents occurred must be almost the same forest where Tooru hid after faking his death. 

“Well, there was that shadow thing, so we already knew there is something there”, Iwaizumi sighs and rubs at his eyes, once again sorting back material. 

They decided to take a break and Tooru insists on cleaning up themselves.

“If we let anyone else put these back, they will know exactly what we were looking for”, he explains pointedly.

“Yes, and they will think we _hit our head a few too many times_ for being too invested in old and dusty hunting records!”, Iwaizumi grumbles, handing his husband, balancing on a stool, another book that belongs onto this particular, higher shelf.

A spaded tail hits him in the face and he tries not to gnash his teeth too hard. _“Tooru,_ watch the tail”

“It’s not like I am doing this on purpose Hajime. Do you _think when you blink?_ Or _sneeze?”,_ the other huffs out, jumping down to the ground.

He doesn’t return anything, not wanting to engage in a fight. His head hurts already, so he neither needs nor wants the other’s bickering.

“How many more?”, his husband asks and Iwaizumi readjusts his grip on the ones he is still holding.

“Those three are the last”, he says and looks at where the upper belongs.

It is only two shelves to the left and the other two are put back quickly.

“I hate to admit it, but this cross-referencing system _is brilliant”,_ Tooru reluctantly grumbles as he makes sure the paper card is safely tucked behind the cover and puts back the last of the manuscripts. “I am thinking about implementing that into our library too - but it will take _years_ to go through each and every record we have!”

Somewhere, while going through the catalogue, Tooru found a little cabinet with paper, ink and quills and has noted all interesting books down, so they can find them easier in the future.

Now he stuffs the folded paper into a fold in his clothes, tightly secured by his heavy belt.

“Come on, I want to stretch my legs a bit”, Tooru chirps.

“We _really_ should ring”, Iwaizumi deadpans but he is gleefully ignored.

“I just want to walk a little, then we can come back and ring”, Oikawa reassures him. “And _who knows,_ maybe we will overhear something interesting again”

 _Oh alright,_ so he just wants to spy on people, _the little shit!_

“You are _the worst,_ Shittykawa!”, Iwaizumi mumbles but is forced to follow him.

They do not walk into any people explaining what moves the universe.

They get _lost._

“I hate you _so much_ right now”, Hajime grumbles.

“Okay, maybe that was not my _best_ idea of the day”, Oikawa admits and critically eyes all three hallways they could possibly take.

 _“If in doubt, always left”,_ he recites and confidently strides down the according corridor.

“I will kill you if we don’t die in here”, Iwaizumi informs him as he follows.

“Don’t be so _negative,_ Hajime. We just need to find a window and if all things fail, we can jump out. I thought you _like_ adventures”

 _“Correction:_ I will kill you if you don’t break your neck first”

Tooru rolls his eyes and stops short as they face another crossroad.

“Okay, this is getting _ridiculous!”,_ he mumbles. “Do they still have space for _actual rooms,_ when there are just _hallways everywhere!?”_

 _“If in doubt, always left”,_ Iwaizumi sneers and stomps past him.

Left leads them to a narrow, windowless spiral staircase, winding upwards and just as he thinks that maybe they are now forever lost in darkness, Tooru gasps.

“Hajime, there is light up there. _Daylight!”_

 _“What?_ It’s pitch black?”, he grunts.

 _“Trust me,_ I have pretty good night vision”, and as if to remind him, a tail flicks against his hip.

Grumbling something incoherent Iwaizumi takes a deep breath and continues his careful ascent. He almost doesn’t want to admit it, but one spiral later they unexpectedly exit into a broad and bright hallway. In fact, it might be the widest he has seen so far in the castle.

“I think we found _the ancestral gallery”,_ he breathes out.

The entire length of the hallway is lined with portraits and paintings, occasionally interrupted by arched windows.

 _“Oh,_ well at least something. _See,_ we are having _fun”,_ Tooru smiles at him brightly and Iwaizumi barely resists the urge to punch him.

While Tooru strolls on to examine the frames and pictures, Iwaizumi walks over to the nearest window and glances down.

 _“Good luck jumping,_ we are about four stories up”, he deadpans, eyes scanning the buildings he can see from this angle. “But I think I know the general direction from here”, he then breathes out, relieved, and catches up to his husband, walking along the walls.

Most paintings are classic depictions of royalty, showing former kings and queens of Karasuno, once in a while interrupted by landscapes, animals or battlefields.

A king on horseback, the portrait of an old woman, a man with two children by his side, a waterfall, a queen posing with a wind hound and a bow, another king with a broad scar over his forehead and many more.

They both stop at the portrait of a girl, with long flowing, wavy, silver hair, sitting on a richly decorated chair. She is wearing an emerald green dress and a heavy collier of silver and pearls. She seems quite young, definitely not older than 16 or 17. Iwaizumi thinks how much she looks like King Sugawara. _Maybe his mother?_

He looks at the next painting and examines the middle-aged man shown. He too has a similar posture to how the current King keeps himself and something to the line of his eyes is oddly familiar. _Must be his father then._

He looks from one picture to the other, comparing them. The King is shown strong and proud, his eyes blazing sternly, all in all, very cliche and kingly. 

So his eyes keep drifting back to the girl.

Not only is there a noticeable age gap between them, but the style is entirely different, even compared to the other queens.

Perhaps it was a _bad_ painter, perhaps a _brilliant_ one, capturing her fragile gaze and the delicate pain to her expression so subtly. It is very clear that she doesn’t want to be painted, that she feels uncomfortable in her fulminant attire, but nevertheless she holds herself graceful and straight.

“Do you know what happened to Sugawara’s mother?”, Iwaizumi asks out of a whim. “I only ever heard about his father”, and he looks back at the man’s painting. He doesn’t look like a crazy, power-hungry, authoritarian. Iwaizumi wonders if the madness is just well hidden or if something simply broke the old king of Karasuno.

 _“No,_ now that you ask, I don’t think I have ever heard of her. She must have died young if this is the most recent picture”, Tooru thinks out loud, scanning the girls painting one last time, then he turns away and continues to walk the gallery. “But I am interested to know. Next time let us look it up in the library!”

They pass a family painting, two more kings, a portrait of a horse and a woman with artfully braided hair, then presumably the same woman, wielding a sword in battle.

Tooru stops again, in front of one of the larger paintings in the gallery.

It is a scenic depiction of the Lair, the spires rising from the clifftop, clouds drifting across the sky, painting shadows into the long grass, swaying in the wind.

The painting is neither especially detailed, nor realistic, but the rough brushstrokes and hard shadows have a certain effect, that just keeps him captured and looks weirdly familiar. It is not the accuracy but the _feeling_ it conveys, that makes it so perfect and authentic.

 _“Iwa-Chan!”,_ suddenly Tooru grabs his arm and snaps around to the end of the hallway.

 _“What?”,_ he asks, but then he hears the soft footsteps and a second later, Sugawara appears in the archway.

Iwaizumi feels himself spring to attention, instantly becomes warrier and his pulse increases.

He feels like getting caught, even though they have done nothing wrong. Maybe that is the leftover paranoia from eavesdropping.

 _“Your Highness”,_ they both say and bow their heads.

Sugawara gives them a court nod, once he has closed in on them, then he turns to examine the painting.

“I had a feeling you’d be drawn to this one”, he says, softly.

“May I ask, why that is?”, Tooru asks politely, but slightly tense, the previous evening still clear in mind.

 _“Your mother_ made it”, Sugawara answers him with a little smile, then he runs his hand over the frame. “It was a gift of her’s when Daichi and I married”, he explains.

Iwaizumi feels very stupid for not recognising the style earlier. After all, there were countless of the late queen’s paintings in their new chambers at home.

Tooru looks surprised, then he examines the picture as if he was seeing for the first time.

Several seconds of silence pass by, then Sugawara straightens his back.

“I have been looking for you actually”, he begins. “I wish to apologize for yesterday”

Tooru opens his mouth but the other king holds up his hand. “I have _not_ changed my opinion on the possibility of a proposal and I _won’t_ in the future”, he tells him firmly, then his face turns gentler, “But I _do now see,_ my tone of voice was inappropriate. I should not have erupted as I did”

Iwaizumi is taken a little by surprise and Tooru seems to be too, but he catches himself quickly.

“I did not try to explain myself either, so the fault is mutual”, he decides.

Sugawara’s eyes widen briefly, then a warm smile works its way onto his face. “I hope we can have a fresh start and try to work out the best solution, _like sophisticated adults”,_ he offers and Tooru joins in on his smile.

“It would be my _pleasure”,_ he agrees and Iwaizumi feels a stone drop from his chest.

He can see, that Tooru is not feeling just as friendly as he is pretending to be, but it’s the first step.

“There is something I would like to give you, _If you have a moment?”,_ the older king turns to both of them and they exchange a look.

 _“Sure”,_ Iwaizumi nods and Tooru hums in agreement.

With a beckoning handwave, the other man tells them to follow him and soon they are back in the conglomeration of staircases and hallways, until they come to a stop in front of a heavy door, wich Sugawara opens.

It reveals a room, that is obviously the Kings workspace with a broad, crescent-shaped, teakwood desk dominating the room and the walls covered in overflowing shelves.

Iwaizumi takes a careful look around as Sugawara walks over to a heavy-looking chest and balances the metal adorned lid open.

For a moment he cowers there, staring into it as if he was rethinking, but then he visibly steels his shoulders and takes out a neatly folded, bright blue cloth.

Carefully, _as if he was holding the world itself,_ he carries it over to them.

 _“This…_ it belonged to your mother. She left it here the last time she came to visit and I forgot to bring it with me when I went to Aoba Johsai. I told her I still had it and she instructed me to hold on to it until she could visit once more but… _it wasn’t meant”,_ and he gently runs his fingers over the silver embroidered edges of the shawl, a sad smile hushing over his face.

Then the takes a deep breath, clearly fighting with himself before holding it out to Tooru. _“You_ should have it”, he tells him firmly.

Oikawa’s hand is shaking and he needs to force himself to keep it steady, as he reaches out and takes the cloth, so hesitantly, as if he was afraid it could turn into ashes the second he touches it.

 _“Tooru”,_ Iwaizumi mumbles quietly, softly placing his hand between his husband’s shoulder blades, giving him the strength he needs to take the shawl.

For a few seconds, he stays silent, then he asks: “You knew her well?”

Sugawara nods. “In some sense, _I did”_

“What was she to you?”, the brunet looks up at the older king and Iwaizumi follows his example.

The silver-haired man avoids their eyes, looking over at the windows abstractedly and eventually, he says: _“Many things._ A mentor, an idol, someone to look up to. But most of all she was… _safety”,_ he fights for the right word, then he looks at Oikawa once more.

“She was one of the few people who saw, accepted and encouraged me for the person _I am_ and not for _the trophy_ the rest of the world wanted me to be”, he tells them, his expression slightly pained, but nevertheless gentle. “She was a magnificent person and a true queen”

Tooru swallows and Iwaizumi feels his own throat growing tighter, as he gently rubs his partners back.

“She was”, Oikawa eventually nods.

Sugawara gives them a compassionate look, then his face turns more serious.

“King Tooru, we have both suffered by the hands of men, who thought they could control us. But we broke free of our shackles and chose our own paths”, he locks his hands behind his back. “I believed that alone would put us on the same page, but I see now, that I was ahead of myself and my assumption, that a shared past may automatically entail trust, was a rushed one! It was foolish of me, to expect you to believe in my honest intentions without anything to back it up and I am sorry for turning my disappointment into anger. But I hope that you can consider this an act of goodwill and if not reward it with _trust,_ then perhaps with less scepticism when I _promise_ you, that the only thing I want, is for Tobio to be happy and free of concerns”, the older man smiles at them softly.

“I was too eager, in my pursuit to assure that and failed in both explaining my motives to you and trying to understand your own. I have talked with Daichi and we decided that maybe we could move ahead in smaller steps. Tobio is already looking forward to our excursion to Nekoma and I hope that you will agree with him joining us. After that we thought, we could bring him with us to the High Council and he can then return to Aoba Johsai with you. I’d propose a monthly or bi-monthly cycle, so he can live here and at Skygarden and should you ever have the feeling that things are heading in the wrong direction, you can put a stop to it _whenever you like”_

Tooru doesn’t answer right away, his eyes still glued to the shawl, but Iwaizumi knows he is thinking.

 _“Thank you for the offer,_ Your Highness. Would you agree, if I’d take one more day to contemplate your proposition?”, he eventually asks, choosing every word slowly.

 _“Of course._ You are invited to stay at the Lair for _as long as you like_ and should you wish to examine the state of our education or training, just tell me and I will be happy to show you around”, Sugawara nods.

“That is very generous of you”, Tooru gives a little, miniature bow, uncommonly humble, causing Iwaizumi to worry.

Is he hatching something or just off the track?

“If it were possible, could you call someone to show us back to our chambers? I’d like to put this someplace secure”, Tooru caresses the shawl and Sugawara hums in agreement.

“Of course, I will guide you”

The silver-haired king brings them to their room and leaves them with another, gentle smile.

_“King Tooru”_

Iwaizumi halts midway closing the door and the older man looks over his shoulder at the brunet.

“She would be proud of you!”, he smiles, honest sorrow is hushing over his eyes, then he looks at Iwaizumi and his expression grows warmer. “And of you too, _I am certain”,_ he nods and leaves.

Hajime pulls the door closed and looks over at his love, standing there in the middle of the room, clutching the vibrant blue cloth.

 _“Tooru?”,_ he asks carefully.

“We need a distraction!”

_“What?”_

“The books… _the books in his study._ They had embossments in First Tongue”, he breathes out, determination blazing in his eyes and Iwaizumi perks up.

“So we found nothing _because they aren’t in the library”,_ he groans. They could have thought of it sooner, that valuable books about magic wouldn’t just by lying around.

 _“Hajime?”,_ suddenly the other’s voice is hoarse and cracks.

Iwaizumi looks at the half-demon, red eyes watering and flat palms pressing the shawl to his chest so that his claws don’t damage the cloth. Pain rises in his chest and he wraps him into his arms.

 _“It’s okay”,_ he mumbles and Tooru sags against him, shoulders starting to shake.

“I just _miss her so much”,_ he sniffs, a repressed sob wrenching itself free from his throat.

“I know”, Iwaizumi gently cups the back of the other’s head with his hand.

_“Hajime?”_

_“Yeah?”_

“Can you spoil me, _just a little?”_

With a deep sigh, he pulls him even stronger against his chest, fingers of one hand massaging the base of Tooru’s skull, the other gently rubbing up and down his back.

 _“Yeah”,_ he nods and Oikawa gives in to the shaking, pressing his face against his shoulder and the tears roll freely, seeping through his clothes, but it doesn’t matter. 

All that matters now is that he holds him and that he does not ever let go of the broken little boy, hiding under the facade of an impeccable ruler.

And he wonders if this is a wound that will ever really heal.

**\---**

He doesn’t know, for how long they stand there, swaying gently, before moving to the bed and Tooru curls up into a tight ball, tail wrapped around himself, head bedded in Iwaizumi’s lap and his hand smoothing over the other’s hair.

Eventually, Oikawa fights his way back up into a sitting position, lingering against his shoulder for another few minutes.

“We need to find out what schedule he has tomorrow, so we can sneak into his study”

Iwaizumi’s hand seizes motion and he looks at his partner. “You _aren’t fucking serious,_ are you? We can’t _do that!”_

“Well then what do _you_ propose?”, Tooru leans away from him, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed so that he is sitting next to Iwaizumi, hands clasped between his knees.

 _“Ask him!”,_ Iwaizumi calls out.

 _“Oh sure,_ because he is hiding them in his personal space for _no reason whatsoever!”,_ Tooru snorts, wiping at his eyes, face turning more and more determined.

Hajime sighs as he gets up to his feet and walks over to the washbasin. Someone seems to have been in here since the bronze bowl is empty, polished and new towels stacked up in the shelf underneath it. Feeling slightly guilty, he pours a new cup full of water into it and dips the corner of a fresh cloth into the wetness.

Then he walks back over to his husband and gently grabs his chin. _“C’ mere”,_ he mumbles, softly and starts to wipe down the other’s tear-crusted and salty cheeks. 

“It _tickles,_ Iwa-Chan”, Tooru sniffs, but a small smile appears on his lips.

“Shut up, you _snotty monstrosity!”,_ Iwaizumi sighs and cups the other’s jerking cheek, running his thumb under the gleaming red eye, that stares back at him, large and so full of wonder. He could watch the supernatural patterns and seemingly fluctuating smears in their iris for hours.

 _“Hajime?”,_ Tooru asks him. “Will you help me?”

He sighs and takes a step back to examine his work. “Stop asking stupid questions! _Of course,_ I will!”, he harrumphs and flings the cloth at his husband. “But we are _not_ breaking into Sugawara’s study! And now blow your nose, you are disgusting”

Oikawa makes a surprised _‘guawk’_ noise and fumbles the towel away from his face, but he does as he is told.

Iwaizumi meanwhile starts to walk up and down, slowly thinking.

He refuses to betray the other king’s trust by violating not only the common sense but also, he assumes, a good dozen laws. But if Tooru doesn’t want to put his cards on the table, then that is a wish he won’t go against either!

So… they need to stir the conversation in the direction of the books but without revealing too much.

 _“I have a plan”,_ he eventually decides. 

“A plan? A _whole_ plan?”, Oikawa raises his eyebrow at him.

“Well, like, _half_ a plan!”, Iwaizumi admits, then he puts his hands down on his hips.

“Okay and what _is_ your _half of a plan?_ ”, his husband flexes his fingers and Hajime watches how his appearance flickers several times.

 _“Like hell,_ I will tell you, because you’ll _ruin_ it!”, he answers gruffly and flicks the other’s forehead.

 _“Ow,_ you are so mean. I’m a good actor, Iwa-Chan, I can keep a secret”

“Yes, but you are also impatient, _so no!”_ , he tells him firmly and earns a pout.

“Do I at least get to know _when_ you want to take action and initiate that plan of yours?”

For a moment he thinks, then he nods. “Tomorrow”, he announces.

 _“Tomorrow?_ But we can’t wait tha- “, Oikawa stops mid-sentence, faced with a sharply raised eyebrow, as he realizes, he just confirmed Hajime’s accusation of impatience. For a second, he just stares at him, mouth half-open, then he takes a deep breath, adjusts the collar of his jacket and mumbles: “Yes, that sounds fine. _Excellent_ . Splendid in fact, what difference does waiting make, this is absolutely okay, I have nothing to object, sounds good, I’m in, _terrific_ , fantastic plan, -”

 _“Tooru!”,_ Iwaizumi cuts him off. “I didn’t say we are not going to do anything else today!”

The other looks at him. “Okay, so what do you want to do?”

Iwaizumi sighs, then he cups his husband’s face and runs his thumbs over his cheeks. “I want you to relax a little! You are working yourself up too much and I’m worried about…”, he hesitates, then he gently taps the others horn, _“...this”_

Oikawa’s eyes narrow at him. “Are you implying _I don’t have myself under control?”,_ he asks sharply and Hajime sighs.

“You are a goddamn idiot, _you know that?_ I know you can control it! I just don’t want you to _hurt yourself”,_ he scolds the other.

The demon opens his mouth as if he wanted to disagree, but Iwaizumi shuts him up with another flick against his forehead.

“And now tell me everything you know about Karasuno!”, he falls into a chair.

 _“What?_ I thought you wanted me to _relax!?”,_ his husband crooks his head to the side, confused.

“Are you seriously going to claim, that political shenanigans and showing off how much you know, _doesn’t_ relax you!?”, he raises an eyebrow back at him and Tooru gives in.

“Well, I suppose you have a point”, he tries to sound neutral, but a faint smirk works its way onto his lips as he takes a deep breath and taps his fingertips against one another.

“What do you want to know?”, he asks and Iwaizumi grins.

That is more the man he fell in love with. _“Everything you’ve got!_ Military, politics, enemies, trades”

“You sound like you are planning an attack”, Tooru muses.

 _“It’s never bad to know what you are facing”,_ Iwaizumi does his best impression of Oikawa, then flicks back his hair - or well, he pretends to, considering he just cropped it last week.

Tooru gives him a sour look.

“I assume my spoiled time is _over,_ then?”

“Exactly! _Now talk”_

And the other sighs. “Now that I am thinking about it, I don’t know _that_ much about the country itself! I _thought_ I would, but I have a feeling that a lot of my information may be outdated or distorted”, he thinks out loud, scratching his chin. “Their kingdom is old and most of their current borders were established during the Age of Warfare when Karasuno was at the peak of their power. They are protected by natural barriers, mostly the grand river that originates in Dateko and poses our border with them. If not for that, I _doubt_ they could hold their territory! It carries a lot of water and the time for a safe crossing at the two fords there are is always limited to a few weeks in summer. The only other point of attack is the main bridge we used to get here, but those bottlenecks make an invasion difficult for both sides and to be honest I don’t know what anyone would _want_ here! They only have little farmland south of here, the rest of the country is hills, grass, a few weeds here and there, trees and occasionally some rocks, _I assume._ As far as I am informed their relationship with Kakugawa in the south is neutral. Karasuno depends on them for imports and since they are a merchant nation, Kakugawa has no interest in picking a fight with the crows. Then, of course, there is Nekoma, but I don’t want to make any assumptions at this point. Oddly enough I do not recall them ever having troubles with Fukurodani in the north-east”, he begins to count down on his fingers.

“Isn’t Fukurodani allied with Nekoma?”, Iwaizumi interrupts him.

 _“Yes,_ but the Tokyo continent works differently than we do. I believe they are allies but not in a military way, although I am not entirely certain, how that works”, Tooru sighs.

“What about that book you had, from the Fukurodani scribe?”

 _“Oh yes,_ that was quite interesting. It was a guide on how to behave in the forest in order not to attract dark forces and creatures and what to do if you encounter them - while it had some descriptions of arcane creatures, it wasn’t really the kind of _mystic encyclopedia_ I would like to have. _Still_ the most helpful book I have read so far”

Iwaizumi halts and thinks for a moment, trying to remember the map he had studied earlier today. “What about the north?”, he asks and Oikawa smiles cunningly.

“Now _that_ is where things get interesting”, he begins. “Tokonami is a dukedom too unimportant, to be of concern and they are separated from the crows by some mountains. So the main power is, _of course,_ Dateko”

Iwaizumi’s face turns sour at the thought of the queen Futakuchi. He hates that old hag and her snobby offspring!

“Yeah _I know_ and you aren’t the only one. Once the crows and the Iron Wall were close allies, but that is long over and for most of recent history there has been icy silence, until a couple of years ago”

Iwaizumi’s head perks up.

“It was when the conflict with Nekoma flamed up again, that Lady Futakuchi had the brilliant idea to invade crow territory. It was a debatable move since there was never an official declaration of war and she didn’t bother to reveal her motives - she just marched in and claimed land as her own. Naturally, the crows fought back, at which point it was declared a conflict of states, even though it was everything but fair!”, Oikawa tells him.

“How did it end?”, Iwaizumi asks, a dreadful feeling already building in his stomach.

“Karasuno may be sturdy but they were already weakened from their war with Nekoma and Dateko has a mighty military. From what I have heard it was a _bloodbath on both sides,_ with high casualties and ended in bitter defeat. The crows managed to save themselves across the river and lucky for Sawamura, Dateko never felt the need to pursue them, even though that part is way easier to cross that our border with them”, Oikawa sighs. 

Hajime nods quietly. He had a feeling like that. But he steels his shoulders and tries to store all that information properly. He is the _military-man_ after all - this is _his job_ and the only part of being king, he _actually understands something about._

“What about fighting forces? I haven’t seen a single knight around here since we arrived!”, he continues his interrogation. _“Not even guards_ on the wall or anything!”

“I am _curious_ about that too”, Tooru admits. “Something I noticed while going over the historical records earlier is, that many people are referred to by several aliases and titles or appear in many, different contexts! I couldn’t tell you the exact hierarchy here, only make assumptions. Apart from the kings obviously, _although_ there are titles called _‘The Warden’_ and _‘The Untouched’_ , that are recurring and that also seem to hold significant power around here, sometimes even portrayed _higher_ than the ruling nobles!”

Iwaizumi scratches his chin. That doesn’t quite answer his question.

“Politics aside, Tooru, what would we _be facing?”,_ he tries to ask it differently.

“Karasuno is _famous for its cavalry._ Their offence is astonishing for a country with so little population, but other than that there isn’t much. That is one of the reasons they have had so many problems with Nekoma, who simply made use of their resources and tired them out and with Dateko, who are experts on building barricades and war machinery”

“So if you manage to withstand the first attack and take countermeasures you can bleed them dry”, Iwaizumi concludes and Tooru nods.

_“Pretty much”_

“They said, they had _more important matters to attend to, than Nekoma”,_ Iwaizumi recalls and crooks his eyebrow.

“It seems like Dateko is getting bold again, but we have no reports of any troop movement, so all I can base that assumption on, are rumours”, Tooru makes a thoughtful gesture.

Hajime lets that sink in. He still doesn’t quite know how to feel about this place. There is something that _fundamentally_ disturbs him, but that he can’t put his thumb on, like an itchy spot on his back, that he can’t quite reach.

They know a lot but it feels like none of that information is _actually useful,_ as if they are thrown little treats to distract from something larger.

“Some on the seniors said, that they worship _death?_ But I found nothing about it in the library”

A shadow drops over his partner’s eyes. _“The angel of death,_ yes. A mythical figure of some kind, that allegedly resides in Karasuno, but it’s just _absurd._ Even I can’t believe that things such as _angels_ exist and I have a _fucks forsaken tail_ growing out my back!”

“But isn’t it weird we found literally _nothing_ on it? No old texts, not a thing!”, Iwaizumi presses.

“Maybe it’s just some fairy tale they tell others to spook them”, Tooru huffs, his tail flicking from one side to the other.

Iwaizumi hums, but neither of them is really convinced by that - the thought, that maybe those holy, arcane texts are what they saw in the king’s study, hanging between them. In the end, they will not get around it if they want to learn anything here.

“Okay, so _basically_ we know nothing”, he sighs and scratches his chin. _“Nothing definite”,_ he then specifies, as Tooru opens his mouth to protest.

The other joins in on his sigh and begrudgingly admits to it, by rolling his neck and shoulders.

“I am afraid, the fact they have nothing to offer has made them uninteresting to most and therefore we stopped bothering to collect reliable intel”, Oikawa assumes. _“Which we need to change!”,_ and he rises to his feet, straightening his collar and adjusting the coffers of his jacket.

_“Tooru?”_

“We’ll have to do something - staying in here for too long might cause suspicion”, he says, then he licks his lips. 

Iwaizumi sighs and runs a hand back through his hair. “Which part of fucking _relax_ did you not get, Shittykawa?”

“I need to move a little, Iwa-Chan and we did get offered a tour of the castle - sightseeing counts as relaxation, _doesn’t it?”_

Hajime sighs, but he gives in. He can’t quite argue with that!

“Alright, but _this time we ring!”,_ he says it in a tone, not allowing any talk-back and Oikawa reluctantly agrees.

It only takes a few minutes until someone knocks at their door and upon being called in, they are once again faced with Ennoshita.

“I think we would like to call you up on that _castle tour_ now”, Tooru informs him, back to his usual, royal self.

The servant bows his head. _“As you wish_ \- is there anything that interests you especially?”

 _“Stables”,_ Iwaizumi says before he can stop himself. Both other men just look at him until he clears his throat, trying to suppress a vibrant flush and articulates his request more appropriately: “I would be interested in your stables, as I have taken notice of the magnificent horses you breed here” 

He feels like he has swallowed something foul. _What kind of normal thinking human being talks like this? Royalty is a pain!_

Ennoshita merely nods. “If that is your wish, I can show you there. There Karasuno horse is _indeed_ famous, even outside of Miyagi - you have a good eye, Your Highness”

Iwaizumi tries not to sigh. _Awkward…_

“If you wish to go outside, however, I recommend that you take some kind of coat along. The rain has seized but the wind has its own mind in these lands”, he tells them and proceeds to wait patiently while they follow his suggestion.

They start off in the opposite direction of the main hall and their guide begins to tell them about the different structures and periods.

They learn, that in the very beginning, during the First Age, the Southern Spire, that would later be the centre of the castle, was merely a watch post over a marketplace at the base of the cliff. Until the gathering of merchants and travellers lead to the declaration of a kingdom.

After a while, they leave the castle and ascend onto the battlement. From this position, Iwaizumi observes, how the fortress is composed of an inner and an outer ring, something, he never noticed before.

Their guide is just finished, telling them something about a herbal garden, when Tooru shifts the topic unexpectedly.

“Please pardon me, but I feel like _I hear an accent?”,_ he asks the servant, who, for a miniature moment, actually shows surprise on his otherwise relatively blank face.

“You are indeed correct”, he then admits. “Although I was not aware, one can still hear it”

“May I ask, where you are from then, _originally?”,_ Tooru does his best to sound friendly and casually, ignoring the hierarchical difference between them.

“A coastal town to the north”, the servant tells them.

“You are _from Dateko?”,_ the surprise in Tooru’s voice is just a tad too much, for it to not sound overly theatrical. 

_“Just barely”,_ Ennoshita straightens his back. “But neither have I, nor _will I ever_ associate with the Iron Wall! My loyalty is with His Grace King Koshi and _His Grace alone”_ , his eyes turn just the tiniest bit narrow as if he was challenging them.

 _“Please forgive me,_ I did not intend to impeach your credibility”, Oikawa smoothes it over, skillfully. “I was simply surprised”

The servant gives them another, indistinctive look, then he bows his head. “You need not apologize to someone like myself, Your Highness”, he brushes it off and then turns away, continuing to guide them along the battlement.

Tooru glares a dagger at his back. Iwaizumi knows, his husband is pissed, that the dark-haired man seems to be immune to his charm.

Soothingly he bumps their elbows, then clears his throat.

“It’s a really great castle you’ve got here!”, he tells the man honestly, striking a more leisure tone, hoping to play the _‘was a servant myself’-card._ “Thanks for the tip with the coats”

The wind is indeed still fresh and many puddles have collected on the stone.

“Thank you, Your Highness - I am sure, the kings will be pleased to hear, their efforts are paying off”, Ennoshita bows his head. “And you are very welcome - it is my job, to make sure you are comfortable”, he continues, equally unimpressed with the amicable tone, as he was with the friendly-royalty one.

Iwaizumi can feel Tooru giving him a smug look. _Okay yeah,_ maybe he imagined this to go differently! _So what._

“I umn, I noticed, you don’t have any guards? I admire your calm”, he tries to sound casual and not outright begging: _Please start a normal conversation with me._

“We simply have no need for excessive patrol, thus our resources are diverted differently”, Ennoshita enlightens them.

“Are you not concerned? There are always bandits, stupid enough to pick on prey, _obviously too large for them”,_ Tooru chimes in, folding his hands behind his back, letting his gaze drift over the hill land, stretching out endlessly until it meets the horizon.

“If you are concerned for your safety, I can assure you, his Grace’s control over this castle is _impeccable._ There is not a mouse in the cellar, that could steal a piece of cheese without our knowledge, never mind an actual intruder roaming these grounds”, Ennoshita speaks, not without a tad of pride. “And you will find that every inhabitant of this castle is skilled in fight, should the need occur, so you need not worry”

Tooru and Iwaizumi exchange a look and Hajime shrugs. He isn’t entirely sure, what the other man is talking about, but he sounds convinced of his words and so Iwaizumi is willing to trust in their honesty.

They continue to walk and Ennoshita explains something about the structure of one of the towers, but Hajime is only half listening. His eyes travel across the barren land, sweep over the cliffside, a faint creek snaking through the land underneath the rise and the endless up and down of grassy hills. He couldn’t stay here for long - _he’d miss the trees,_ the sounds they make in a soft breeze and the shade they give. But for the moment it has a certain beauty, he has to admit that!

Slowly they descend from the battlement and enter the court where they arrived the previous day and walk through a gateway at its side, underneath the battlement and into another, smaller yard whose walls are lined with wooden shacks.  
Iwaizumi notices that all stable doors are wide open and a few houses are standing around in the middle of the place or feeding off some hay racks on the other end of the yard. None of them is on a leash.

A greyish mare with soft white sprinkles lets out a strong huff as they enter.  
Ennoshita narrows his eyes. _“That’s odd”,_ he mumbles.

“Indeed - I’d say one of your stable boys needs to be disciplined”, Tooru hums with a slightly scrunched nose.  
 _“Oh no_ \- they are always roaming free. But _this one_ should be out with your brother!”, Ennoshita explains and pats the steed’s flank.

“He took _Stray”,_ someone calls and seconds later a bald man emerges from one the stables, a hay gavel thrown over this shoulder. 

_“Stray_ is _here?”,_ Ennoshita asks.

 _“Yeah,_ showed up in the middle of the night. Was surprised too, but I think she’s taken a liking in Ka-”, the bald man stops mid-sentence as he spots Oikawa and Iwaizumi and narrows his eyes. “-geyama”, he finishes, giving them a weird look.

If Iwaizumi didn’t know better, he would say, the man was _checking them out_ \- as in how challenging a fight they would be.

 _“Tanaka”,_ Ennoshita’s voice is calm but every hair on Iwaizumi’s neck rises.  
The bald man stares at them for another second, then he gives in and bows. _“Your Highnesses”,_ he grumbles and at that moment Hajime realizes he _knows_ the man!

Back from their very first visit during Tooru’s Grand Debut - he was there when Prince Shoyo and Tobio got into a fight.

“Who or what is Stray, if you don’t mind me asking?”, Tooru asks politely while Iwaizumi starts to look around and very discreetly takes a step closer towards a hazelnut mare.

“One of the wilder horses, Your Highness. She usually travels alone and does not come to the castle often, even during wintertime. She is also known for not being particularly fond a rider”, Ennoshita explains.

Iwaizumi carefully stretches out his hand.

 _“YO, buff guy!”_ , someone bellows and he flinches. The bald servant looks at him scoldingly. “If you wanna keep your fingers, I’d recommend not doin’ that!”

 _“Excuse me?”,_ Tooru takes a step forward in Iwaizumi’s defence, eyebrow raised sharply but the servant is relatively unimpressed by his royal posture. Hajime feels caught.  
 _“Kiki bites”,_ is all the ruffian deadpans. “But by all means, go ahead - not _my_ problem if you go home with a hand less”, he shrugs and turns around, starting to poke some of the fresh straw onto his gavel.

“Please forgive me, Your Highness”, Ennoshita tries to appease them. “He is my greatest failure”, and shoots the bald man a very sour look. “Tanaka is, however, right. Kiki _does_ tend to express herself with unusually much use of teeth”

 _“Oh”,_ Iwaizumi can feel his face heat up and he withdraws his hand.  
“I’d suggest befriending Yuki here. She is a regular at the castle and of tamer character”, and the dark-haired servant gives the greyish mare a soft push in Iwaizumi’s direction.  
At first, the horse seems everything but interested in him, instead shaking out its white mane, but with another encouraging pat it eventually pads over and with a nervous lick of his lips Iwaizumi offers out his hand again.

Up close the animal is _ridiculously_ huge and bulky. But it’s muzzle is warm and soft, just like any other horse and it gently sniffs at his hand, then bumps its nose into his palm.  
A wide grin starts to split his face and he slowly starts to circle to the mare’s side, patting the strong neck.  
Aoba Johsai breeds its horses to be elegant and fast. But these ones are _wild!_ They are untouched by human ideals and also Iwaizumi supposes, they don’t need to worry about predators. These horses _are the predators!_

Yuki allows him to pat her and twists her muscular neck to huff gently into his face.  
“Hey, Tooru!”, Iwaizumi beams giddily.

He is rewarded with a deadpan stare. “Yes dear, _that is a horse!”_

“You are _such an ass”,_ Hajime harrumphs, then he pats over the rim of the mare's mane and mumbles under his breath. “You are a beauty, don’t listen to the idiot!”

The horse proofs to be a lot more appreciative than his husband and grants him another warm puff of air and a soft muzzle bopping his forehead. Why does he hang around Tooru again?  
The other begins to start some chatter with Ennoshita, pursuing his futile plan of getting the servant to open up a little.  
Iwaizumi doesn’t listen. He is too busy not getting trampled to death because it doesn’t take long until two other horses spot their chance for free snuggles and pad over to him.  
They are all curious, absolutely adorable and they are all _huge._

He barely manages to escape alive, before being crushed by enthusiastic muzzle bumps, aimed at getting his attention.

Eventually, the dark-haired servant leads them on, continuing their tour, but as they reach the herbal garden, they already saw from the battlement, another servant intercepts them and whispers something to Ennoshita.  
The man furrows his brows, then he bows and says. “I am _terribly_ sorry, Your Highnesses, but I am needed!”

Tooru and Iwaizumi exchange a look.  
“Sure”, his husband begins, “We are fine on our own, you need not worry”

“Thank you - if you follow this path, you will reach an archway at the northern wall of the garden, that will lead you straight back to the main hall. You will find someone there who can show you around further”, he bows again, then he whips around and with hasty steps he and the other servant vanish back the way they came, exchanging hushed words.

As soon as they are alone Tooru scrunches his nose. “You _smell,_ Hajime!”

Iwaizumi rolls his eyes. 

They saunter along the little square patches and to Iwaizumi’s amazement they are full of herbs and weeds.  
“Is it just me, or is it weirdly _warm_ here?”, he eventually asks Tooru.

 _“Thank you_ \- I was starting to wonder!”, his husband sighs out.

They pass a bed of low growing, white petals and in the midst of wondering how the hell there are flowers blooming here at this time of year, Iwaizumi notices a small metal pipe sticking from the earth.

Curiously he walks over and holds his hand in front of the opening.

 _“Tooru!”,_ he gasps in surprise. There is a steady stream of warm air coming from the tube.

The brunette hunches down by his side and follows his example. _“Astonishing”,_ he mumbles and takes a sharp look around. “They’re in almost all the beds”, he assesses and walks over to another pipe testing that one too. “Also warm”

“How does that work?”, Iwaizumi wonders. “Maybe the same way we heat the main parts of the castle? Chimneys running from the kitchen so the heat from the large cooking fires warms the walls?”

Oikawa dismisses that idea with a snobby hand wave. “I sure _hope not!_ Heating the walls with excess heat is one thing, but _the garden?_ We are the Kingdom of trees and plants and even _we_ don’t do that - it’s a waste of firewood!”, he harrumphs, “But then again it _would_ explain why there is not a single fucks forsaken tree anywhere in sight!”

“There’s a tree”, Iwaizumi points across the garden at a low-growing willow, hunching against the far side wall.

 _“One_ tree does not count, Hajime!”

“There is just no pleasing you sometimes, _isn’t there?”,_ Haime shakes his head.

They continue to walk for a little in silence, then he opens his mouth again.

“Yes - _library list!_ I want to know too”, Tooru agrees before he can say anything and with a pleased grin, Iwaizumi grabs his hand.

He can’t help but feel a little proud of himself for successfully distracting his husband and lightening his mood.

“It’s weird, isn’t it - how different this is from home?”, Tooru eventually says, winding his arm through Iwaizumi’s.

“Yeah, but I like it - the change is nice”

Tooru raises an eyebrow at him.

“I mean I couldn’t stay here for long… _I miss the trees”,_ he reluctantly admits.

“You’ve got a tree _right over there”,_ the other mocks him and Hajime elbows him.

“Shut up, Shittykawa”

“You are _mean!”_

It is as Ennoshita described and they find an archway leading straight into the darkness of the castle.

They linger outside only a little because while the garden may be warmed by the mysterious pipes, everything is still wet from the rain and the sky remains densely clouded.

Iwaizumi wonders where they might be - in his head he tries to build a little model of the castles interlaced layers and retrace their steps, but he quickly has to admit he is lost… _again._

The hallway has a number of thick wooden doors and from behind some, it smells strongly like food. If he compares this castle to Skygarden, then this must be the kitchen.

A low growl sounds through the corridor and Iwaizumi’s stomach quivers.

“Hajime?”

 _“Sorry”,_ he gulps and Tooru chuckles.

Another loud sound echoes around them and they stop on the spot. That was… _something falling to the ground._

They exchange a look and Iwaizumi places his hand on Oikawa’s shoulder.

His partner nods and closes his eyes.

In the dim light, he observes his form flicker, nostrils flaring and his ears prick up. Then, just as fast as they appeared, his demonic traits vanish again and Tooru leads the way.

Two doors later he stops and nods at the one they are now facing.

Iwaizumi takes a deep breath and listens. Something _rustles_ behind the door… _which is only ajar!_

Discterely he pushes it open further with his foot and glances inside, Tooru peeking over his shoulder, then his husband whispers: _“Jackpot”,_ before grabbing the wood and pulling the entrance open entirely.

The tiny girl, balancing on a stool, at least has the decency to look a _little_ bit caught, but she regains herself rather quickly.

“Hello”, Princess Natsu says.

 _“Princess”,_ Tooru gives her a slight bow. “It is a pleasure to see you again”

“Yes”, she answers, standing stiff and still, pausing her attempt to climb the kitchen counter.

A spatula lays on the ground below her. _So that was the noise!_

Iwaizumi takes a look around. The room has high shelves and a generous cooking space with a huge oven on the other side.

“Yesterday was a bit hectic, _wasn’t it?_ I’d like to introduce myself properly: I am King Oikawa Tooru of Aoba Johsai”, Tooru goes on and Iwaizumi rolls his eyes hard.

_For Pete’s sake, she’s a child, Tooru!_

“I know”, the tiny girl informs them, now daring a glance somewhere at the cabinets above her head. “You are Tobio-San’s brother”

“My name is Iwaizumi”, Iwaizumi tries to strike a softer tone. “Can we help you?”

She bites her lower lip, then this tiny, _gnome of a pipsqueak_ nods and puts her hands on her miniature hips, before declaring: “This is _my_ castle and you are a guest! You must do what I say”

Hajime exchanges a baffled look with Tooru, who stares back equally astonished, the wish to play along with her game and gain her trust clearly clashing with a persistent unwillingness to let _anyone_ boss him around.

But in the end, they will have to comply because they can’t very well just grab her by the ankles, turn her upside down and shake her until she tells them everything she knows, as Iwaizumi _assumes_ Tooru is planning to do with the princes!

“I erm.. _guess,_ so… that’s _a yes?”,_ Iwaizumi thus raises his eyebrows.

“I demand you hand me the meat buns!”, she nods vividly.

So, with a shrug, Iwaizumi steps into the room and walks over to her, eying the cabinet she is pointing at and _behold,_ he spots a whole batch of the delicious treats, resting on top of it, clearly hidden away. _Presumably from hungry princesses_ \- whoever cooks around here will definitely have to think of a better hiding spot!

His own mouth starts to water but he fights it down and carefully hand her one.

The princess makes a happy little sound, grabs it and flops down on the stool, munching into the bun without wasting a second.

Iwaizumi has to close his eyes for a moment. Gods, he hadn’t realised how _hungry_ he has gotten! But he is used to hunger from the many endless tracks and drills he had to endure during his time as a knight, so he just steels himself and ... something tucks at his sleeve.

He looks down into big brown eyes blinking at him.

“Are you hungry?”

“Oh _umn,_ yes, but it’s fine”, he smiles back.

The princess makes a thoughtful face, then she offers: “I _guess_ you can have one - but I want to touch the horns!”, pointing her tiny fingers at Tooru, who’s head snaps up.

 _“Hajime,_ don’t you da-”

 _“Sold”,_ Iwaizumi grins and offers out his hand.

The orange-haired girl nods solemnly and gives him a handshake, that is surprisingly firm, considering her hand is only half the size of his own.

“You have _no idea_ how much I _hate_ you right now!”, Oikawa hisses under his breath, but he nevertheless turns around, checks the hallway for people, then closes the door and bends down while dropping his disguise.

Hajime has no problem ignoring him. Those meat buns are _heaven!_ If he could he would shrink himself, climb into the pillowy dough and juicy filling and life in it! The bun is firm yet soft and he _never_ wants to eat anything else ever again.

“They’re even prettier now!”, Princess Natsu sighs dreamily, running her hands along the sharp spirals. 

“Why _thank you._ Where I come from, people are not usually this appreciative, but you seem rather stress-free, Princess Natsu”, Oikawa muffles, still bend over.

Iwaizumi looks from his meat-bun at Tooru’s stretched ass and back at his bun. Yup, _strong resemblance!_ And only in part because both bear his bite marks. He grins, very pleased with himself.

“I see horns often, but I never get to _touch_ any!”, the tiny girl chirps, forcing Oikawa to twist his head so she can have a better look at them from the side. “Do you have more?”

 _“More?”,_ Tooru starts to sound strained and Iwaizumi has to collect all his self-control to keep his brain from making any more comparisons. _‘There is a child present!’_ , he scolds himself.

“Papa’s shadow has _six!”,_ the princess declares. “And it has a lot more tails _too!”_

Oikawa shoots Iwaizumi an intense look out of the corner of his eyes.

“A shadow with horns and tails?”, Iwaizumi aks. “That sounds _scary”_

And also like _bullshit_ \- they would have noticed that, _wouldn’t they?_

“I used to be afraid, but then I talked with the shadow and it’s really nice! It says _I will be a great huntress one day!”,_ she announces proudly, then finally releases Tooru’s head and with a groan, his husband stands back upright.

“I would love to meet this shadow. It sounds _very_ wise”, Tooru hums honey-sweet, while trying to rearrange his ruffled hair.

 _“C’ mere”,_ Iwaizumi mumbles and sets his meat bun down on the counter, then he reaches out and runs his fingers through his husband’s soft bangs in practised motions.

Tooru hums in appreciation.

The tiny princess looks between the two of them, then she stretches out her hand and demands: _“More meat bun first!_ And I want to touch the tail too!”

Oikawa deflates visibly, looking at Iwaizumi with begging eyes.

But Hajime answers with an intense stare saying: _It was your idea to interrogate her, so work for your reward!_

His partner’s face turns sour and he grumbles: “I am _not_ some kind of _exotic animal!”,_ while shrugging off his coat, hanging it over a chair and turning around so that Princess Natsu can have a better look at his back.

However, he does not comply, without a little childish fit of his own, his tail flicking around tauntingly and the girls first two attempts at grabbing it, go fruitless.

She furrows her tiny eyebrows in displeased concentration, eyes following the spaded tip and then, _quick as a viper,_ her hand snaps forward, grabbing it harshly and with a triumphant _‘hah’_.

Tooru yips in pain and his face turns two shades redder.

Iwaizumi grins into his meat bun. _Serves him right!_

He reaches up to the cabinet and hands the girl another treat, sincerely telling her: “You are a great huntress _already,_ Your Highness!”

His husband’s eyes practically scream _‘betrayal’_.

Hajime decides to drop his coat too. He’s starting to get really warm! The oven must still be radiating leftover heat.

“Papa says, the shadow is sleeping”, Princess Natsu explains, one hand pulling the tail from one side to the other, examining it with interest, the other holding her meat bun.

 _“Sleeping?”,_ Iwaizumi asks.

“Yeah. It’s sleeping _a lot!”,_ she sounds a little bummed out. “And Papa always leaves when the shadow is awake. He doesn’t like it when I talk to it! Even though the shadow is so nice”, she mumbles. “It always tells me fun riddles”

“What a coincidence - I _love_ riddles!”, Tooru does his best to smile. “How about we share our favourite”

The tiny girl looks up from his tail tip to her meat bun, to them and back at her bun. Then she releases his tail, causing Tooru to sigh in visible relief and - Iwaizumi can’t think of a different word - _unhinges_ her jaws, munching the bun away in three big bites.

 _“Another!”,_ she demands, tine hand outstretched.

“I don’t think eating so much is healthy, Princess”, Iwaizumi informs her gently.

She narrows her eyes, then crosses her tiny arms over her tiny chest, cheeks puffing up in a big pout.

“No _meat bun,_ no _riddles”_

He exchanges another intense and honestly overstrained look with his husband. Are they seriously being out-negotiated _by a floppy toddler?_

Tooru grinds his teeth and his tail whips around agitatedly, much to their contender’s delight.

 _“Hajime”,_ he eventually grits out. “We will _never_ speak of this again! Now hand the gremlin her food!”

Iwaizumi just shrugs, but he doesn’t object. It is humiliating in some sense, but he also feels weirdly charmed. The princess is just a little _too cute_ for him to be offended and so he complies with her demands. The puffy twin pony-tails on the back of her head wobble every time she adjusts her position and Iwaizumi is in a serious fight with his desire to pet over all this fluff.

She looks very pleased with herself. “You are nice”, she declares. “I think I will keep you!”

Tooru chokes on his own spit. _“Absolutely not!_ He is _mine!”_

Iwaizumi feels his cheeks flame up a bit, then he looks at his husband. “Are you _seriously_ getting jealous at a five-year-old?”

“I’m _six!”,_ Princess Natsu interrupts him, very offended. 

“Please accept my apology, Princess”

“You are forgiven”, she smacks her lips and bites into her bun.

Tooru gives him an affronted look and possessively wraps his tail around Iwaizumi’s thigh.

Hajime sighs. _Deeply._

“Why does a man, who travels in the rain, without a coat, never get wet hair?”, the princess rips them out of their silent squabble and Tooru dips his head to the side.

_“Pardon me?”_

“You said you wanted to share riddles”, the princess confronts them sternly. 

“Would you care to repeat it for us?”, Oikawa looks around, then he grabs himself a stool and Iwaizumi sits down on the edge of the counter.

The little girl nods and does so.

Iwaizumi grins and exchanges a look with Tooru. “Well, because he is bald”, he announces. Some of the other knights like to do riddles like that on patrol and sometimes he listens in on them.

The princess grins wide and nods. “Kinoshita-San taught me that one, but Tanaka didn’t like it so much. I just wanted to test if you are worthy of the shadow’s riddles!”, she announces and Iwaizumi exchanges another look with Tooru, silently mocking him: _And you said, shaking her up, would be the easier way!_

Tooru smacks his lips in displease.

 _“Is that so?_ Well, how about this: Give me food and I will live, give me water and I will die. What am I?”, he leans forwards.

Princess Natsu blinks at them very unimpressed. _“That is easy!_ You are a fire!”

“Very good - I see now that _you too_ are worthy of my better riddles! How about we make this a little more _interesting”,_ Tooru’s red eyes gleam mischievously.

The fiery-haired girl is on board within a second. “Like a _contest?”,_ she wants to know.

“Hm… _not quite ~”,_ Oikawa hums honey-sweet. “More like: If you solve a riddle you can ask the other a question and if you can’t solve it, the one who posted it can ask you any question they like. Either way, you’ll have to answer _honestly and fully!”_

Iwaizumi gives him a mental pat of the back: _Sly move!_

Their opponent contemplates his suggestion for a moment, then she solemnly nods.

 _“Deal”,_ and offers her small hand out for them.

Tooru takes it gently and they shake. “Okay, then let’s begin!”

Princess Natsu thinks for a moment, scanning them up and down, then she leans back and recites: “What breaks yet never falls and what falls yet never breaks?”

Tooru doesn’t hesitate. “The day and the night.”

Reluctantly the tiny girl nods and Tooru smiles very pleased with himself. “So, what does this shadow do, when it’s _not sleeping?”_

“It’s just lounging around and follows my Papa. It doesn’t really do much, other than talk to him and me. But sometimes it makes the other shadows dance for me and I’m allowed to braid its tails. Only if Papa is asleep though. He doesn’t like me and the shadow playing”, she sighs and rearranges the folds of her dress.

Oikawa looks up at him and Iwaizumi shrugs. So only the princess and King Sugawara can see this shadow!? Iwaizumi doesn’t want to say, he’s _not believing her,_ but this all sounds suspiciously like a child’s overactive fantasy!

“If you have me, you wish to share me, but if you share me, you don’t have me any longer. What am I?”, Oikawa proceeds to prompt the princess.

She bites down on her lip and Iwaizumi catches himself mirroring her pose, thinking about the words. _Something you want to share and if you do…_

“That’s a secret”, she eventually says, slowly and hesitantly.

Tooru dips his head in acknowledgement. _“It is indeed._ Now _you_ can ask _me_ a question”

“Can Tobio-San stay here?”

Iwaizumi’s head perks up and Oikawa reels back slightly in surprise, then he hesitantly counters: “Would you… _like him to?”_

The tiny girl nods enthusiastically. “He gives me piggyback rides and reads me stories!”

 _“Hold on,_ are you sure we are talking about the _same_ Tobio? My brother Tobio? Tall, skinny, flat dark hair, rude, constantly looking constipated, kind of dumb -”, Oikawa prodds.

Iwaizumi slaps him over the back of his head, cutting him off.

“He was mean _at first”,_ the princess admits, “But he’s practising to be nice _very hard!_ And also he is taking brother off my hands”, she explains very casually.

Hajime bites into his fist to stifle a snort.

Tooru does not look convinced.

“So _can_ he?”, the princess presses and Oikawa hesitates visibly.

“We haven’t decided that yet”

“I promise I’ll train him well”, she beams at them.

Iwaizumi chuckles. _“Somehow I don’t doubt that”,_ he grins and Tooru too smirks mischievously.

“I will take that into consideration, _I promise you,_ Princess Natsu - now go on, it’s your turn for the next riddle”, Oikawa reassures her.

The girl thinks for a moment, nibbling at her meat bun, then she asks: “The more there is of it, the less you see. What is it?”

“Darkness”, Iwaizumi answers without thinking and she nods.

“Your father’s shadow, does it have _a name?”,_ Tooru picks his question.

 _“It does,_ but I don’t know it - Dad doesn’t like it being said out loud, so they just call it _‘The shadow’_ and the shadow says that it won’t tell me yet, because _names have power_ and I still have to grow before I can know it”, she explains. “Your turn again”

“What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?”, Tooru recites with a little sing-song in his voice.

“Oh I know that one: A river - _I like that riddle!”,_ the princess claps her hands in delight, beaming in her seat. “What is the ocean like?”

“The _ocean?”,_ Tooru asks perplexed. “I… I have to admit I’ve never seen it, so…”

 _“It’s big”,_ Iwaizumi says. “Some people say it’s a big lake, but that’s _not at all_ true! It is not just large it’s… _magnificent_ and so much water, there is just nothing else. And it smells funny”

Oikawa looks at him and Iwaizumi shrugs. He’s been posted at the shore once and he will never forget that feeling. _Standing on the beach, with nothing in front of you, other than the infinite patchwork of grey and turquoise water…_

“The ocean feels special! Old and powerful, you just... _feel_ it in your bones. It’s loud, the water is always moving, but it’s also gentle and still and it doesn’t matter if you look at it for hours or just minutes, because it’s always the same and yet ever-changing”, he goes on and flaps his hands around, unable to choose the right words to describe that primal feeling of power and energy and… “It takes your breath away, like… _like the world is upside down and the sky has become the ground, your floating in the wind and everything else just feels tiny and unimportant._ Because you’re free...”

For a moment there is silence, then the princess nods, solemnly.

“I am an odd number. Take away a letter and I become even. What number am I?”, she posts the next challenge calmly.

Tooru doesn’t go to answer right away, he keeps looking at Iwaizumi and something in his face has turned incredibly soft, then he reaches over and twines their fingers, giving his hand a loving little squeeze.

Hajime works up a little smile.

“Your number is seven”, Oikawa turns back towards the princess. “I must say, you have quite the _exquisite_ collection of riddles, Princess Natsu. I would like to know if there is any way to wake up the shadow?”

“If it’s not waking up by itself, only Papa can. But sometimes it shows _when we sing_ at the big fire in summer - The Shadow likes our old songs”, Princess Natsu.

“What kind of songs?”, Iwaizumi asks her, but the girl shakes her head.

“Only _one_ question!”, she scolds him.

“Right, _sorry”,_ he apologises with a nod.

“You can still prepare to answer, because my _next_ riddle, is the _best_ one I have!”, Tooru leans forwards on his stool, eyes gleaming. “What kind of room has neither door nor windows”, he says with a conspirative tone of voice.

The tiny girl opens her mouth, closes it, opens it, closes it again, then she furrows her brows and stares at the last half of her meat bun as if _it_ could tell her the answer.

Light lip-nibbling turns into furious biting until long minutes after she eventually mumbles out. _“I don’t know”_

Oikawa grins from one ear to the other, sits up straighter, chest sticking out proudly and announces: “A _MUSHroom”_

Iwaizumi groans loudly. “Oh, you got to be _fucking kidding me!”_

The princess looks perplexed for a second, then she starts to giggle and clap her hands. _“I like it!_ I bet the shadow will too!”

“Alright then: I get to ask _another_ question!”, Tooru scratches his chin.  
“I guess so”, the princess nods.  
“Is your fathers shadow the only one at the castle? Or are there any more wondrous things here?”, his husband eventually snaps his fingers.

“What do you mean: _Wonderous things?”,_ she kicks her little feet curiously.

“Well - people like me, people who are _not human”,_ Tooru elaborates and as to underline his point, his tail flicks around and curls in his lap.

 _“Hm…..”,_ the princess scratches her chin. “Brother doesn’t count, _does he?_ Because he sure is wonderous but I think that’s only because he’s _dumb”_

Iwaizumi snorts out loudly.

He likes Prince Shoyo, _the kid has spirit_ , but it’s not a good sign he is getting roasted so easily by his six-year-old sister!

On the bright side, she is also a poster child for Krasuno’s education because Iwaizumi has to admit her sharp intellect reminds him very much of Tooru at that age.

“Not _quite_ what I am looking for”, his husband chuckles.

“Then _no_ \- it’s just Papa’s shadow”

Oikawa nods and his face turns thoughtful before eventually, he flinches back into reality and makes a beckoning handwave. “Please, do the next, I am _enjoying_ this”

The princess thinks for a moment, then she takes another bite out of her meat bun.  
Iwaizumi realizes he still has to eat his own and follows her example.

“This one is _very_ hard!”, the girl warns them, whipping off her lips on the back of her hand. “That which I am is the one thing which I can not be. What am I?”

Iwaizumi chews slowly, letting the words sink in. Tooru looks up at him, brows furrowed in concentration and quietly mouthing the words to himself.

 _That which I am is the one thing which I can not be…_ it has to be some word with a double meaning, Iwaizumi guesses. Also probably an adjective! But Tooru is the ‘fancy words’-guy and so he will hopefully figure that out!

 _Or perhaps,_ he thinks, _it’s some bullshit word and she is trying to get back at us for the mushroom._ _  
_But what kind of word would fit all that?

 _That which I am…_ some sort of physical state or maybe a profession? That can’t do what it is…

The orange-haired girl watches both of them closely

Oikawa folds his hands and leans his head against them, eyes closed, silently repeating the text over and over and over until eventually, he looks back at Iwaizumi, slightly frustrated and lost.

“Don’t look at me - I’ve got _nothing”,_ he admits begrudgingly. 

Tooru sighs deeply, then he bows his head. “Well Princess, then I must admit defeat”

 _“Oh…”,_ she sighs disappointed and deflates a little.  
“So what’s the answer?”, Iwaizumi asks curiously.

 _“I don’t know”,_ she mumbles, fidgeting with her fingers. “The Shadow told it to me but I can’t figure out the answer and since you solved the others so fast, I thought you could figure this out too”, Princess Natsu admits bummed out.

 _“Oh”,_ Hajime breathes out and Tooru’s face stills in solid contemplation.

 _“Most interesting”,_ he mumbles, then he gets up from his stool. “It was great exchanging wisdoms with you, Princess! We should continue this, but at a later time”

She nibbles a little more at her lower lip, then she nods. “Or else they will notice we are missing”, she agrees.

Iwaizumi starts to massage the bridge of his knows. What kind of _runaway-club_ did he get himself into?

“I want another mean bun”, the girl tucks at his shirt.

“Are you sure?”, he raises his eyebrows.

“Yes, _in fact,_ make it two!”, she declares, then her face turns into a knowing smile and she pats his elbow. “But don’t worry, this will stay _our secret!”,_ she eases him.

Okay, so as long as he isn’t going to be blamed for anything!

“Alright”, he agrees and hands her two more. But instead of devouring them on the spot, the little girl stuffs them into some hidden pockets in her puffy skirt.

“I need to save some, before brother and Tobio get back and eat the rest! You can take another one too, _as reward for your service”_

Is she trying to _bribe_ him?

Back when he was a kid he thought it was _weird_ for Tooru to be so sophisticated but now he is outright _terrified_ of that tiny girl! When she gets older and only has half her brothers energy, Miyagi is going to be in for a big surprise! _If Prince Shoyo and Tobio don’t manage to burn down the whole continent on accident, beforehand._

 _Then again…_ with a shrug, he takes another bun and raises a questioning eyebrow at Tooru.

“Really?”, his husband deadpans.

 _“Hey,_ I was ordered by _royalty_ and also they are freaking delicious!”

“You are going to get _fat_ if you continue eating like this”, Tooru is visibly disapproving, but it only takes a few more seconds before he gives in and stretches out his hand. “Okay fine - I _may_ or _may not_ have developed a slight appetite”, and so Iwaizumi hands him one. Now the batch is half gone.

The princess climbs down from her stool and looks Iwaizumi up and down. “Are you _sure_ I can’t keep you?”, she asks.

 _“Yes!”,_ Tooru snaps before Iwaizumi can answer.

“Sorry”, he adds thus. “But I’m already stuck with that one” and he points at Oikawa.

 _“Aw…”,_ the princess looks sad for a moment, but then she shrugs it off. “Guess I’ll just have to train Tobio then”, she announces her new plan.

Iwaizumi chuckles quietly and follows the girl to the door, picking up their coats on the way all while Tooru is pointedly clinging to his arm.

“Where do you need to go?”, she asks.

“The main hall, please”, he requests and she nods.

Her short legs tippling over the ground, she leads the way and Iwaizumi has to admit his brain is caught up in a violent conflict between _‘cute tiny girl with short legs and puffy pony-tails’_ and _‘intelligent, sharp gremlin, that will roast you alive before you know what is even happening’._

They walk down the hallway, further into the castle, until eventually, they meet a small staircase.  
“I have to go now, but you can just follow the hallway a bit further, through the big door with the manticore head sculpture”, she tells them and drops a little curtsy. “Let’s play riddles again some time!”, she beams.

“Of course, it was _our pleasure”,_ Tooru bows and Iwaizumi follows his example.

But just as they are about to walk off, Oikawa stands still and turns around.

Princess Natsu has grabbed his sleeve and looks up at him with big, pleading eyes.

“King Oikawa-San?”

“Yes, Princess?”

“Could you please not die again? It made Tobio _very_ sad. He cried a lot!”, she pleas.

“I… wait, _Tobio cried?_ Because he thought _I was dead?”,_ Oikawa halts, obviously confused.

The tiny girl nods. “It took Papa two whole days to get him out of his room”

 _“Oh”,_ Tooru looks astonished above else.

Iwaizumi feels a little pinch in his chest. He knows that both brothers only _act_ like they don’t care about the other, but the fact he is just… incapable of imagining the moody dark-haired royal shedding tears, it… _it hurts_ him and above all else, it reminds him: _Prince Tobio is still just a child!_

“So could you stay alive, _please?”,_ the tiny girl presses, still holding on to Oikawa’s sleeve.

“Of course I will! After all, I have Iwa-Chan to protect me”, Tooru nods.

“Won’t help you if you keep stealing my blanket, because then _I_ will murder you”, Iwaizumi mumbles under his breath.

“Well if _that_ is the reason I have to abstain from keeping King Iwaizumi-San, then I think I’m alright with it!”, Princess Natsu nods, seemingly pleased with Tooru’s response. “Oh and not a word to anyone! _This meeting never happened!”,_ she reminds them with a stern face, violently undermined by her overall appearance, then she let’s go of his sleeve and waves them a bright farewell, before hopping up the stairs one at a time.

For long, silent seconds they stare after her, perplexed until Oikawa’s head snaps up: “Hold on - did that _really_ just _happen?_ And did you threaten _to murder me?”_

 _“Shut up and eat your meat bun,_ Shittykawa!”  
“You mean the food we were _bribed with_ like we are some _shady figures at a run-down pub?”_

“If you don’t want to eat it, _give it to me!”_

 _“No,_ it’s _mine!”_ , and Tooru instinctively pulls it closer to his chest.  
They walk a few steps in silence.

“But we _did_ just get played, by a...a”, he goes on, hands ecstatically waving around…

“A _floppy toddler?”,_ Iwaizumi suggests. “Yup, we did!”

“Oh for _fuck’s sake!_ I officially hate this entire kingdom! The sooner we get out of here the better - it’s giving me _the creeps”,_ Tooru shivers.

“You are just jealous, that someone is preying on your title of _‘demon diplomat’,_ aren’t you?”, Iwaizumi grins.

 _“Ha Ha._ See how much I am laughing, Hajime. _Hilarious!”,_ Tooru deadpans with a sulky pout, before biting into his meet bun and whispering: “Okay, the fact that this meat bun is so delicious, I don’t even feel bad about being played by a six-year-old, is not helping!”

Iwaizumi grins with the most shiteating expression he can manage.

They continue their walk until, out of the blue, something hits him: “Wait, did she say something about a _manticore head?”_

Indeed they find the door decorated with the fascinating relief of a _truly disturbing_ creature.  
“Are manticores _even real?”,_ Iwaizumi asks sceptically.

“They are mentioned in many different records, so I think they could very well _be!”_ , Tooru hums, running his fingers over the metalwork protecting the door.

It shows a face, that reminds Iwaizumi of a very large cat, broad muzzle open wide, distorted by three ranks of razor-sharp fangs and a long, snake-like gaveled tongue. But the eyes and ears are very much human, enframed by a ring of wild fur and a scaled tail, crowned with some kind of spike.

It takes Iwaizumi a couple of seconds until he remembers what animal he saw this kind of tail on before: _A scorpion,_ he thinks it is called. It was in one of the exotic books they had at home. 

If the artwork had not been pointed out to him, he most certainly would have just studded right through this door, without paying it much thought other than: ‘ _Huh, weird Lion!’_

“What does _this_ say?”, Iwaizumi points at some engravings, under the relief.

“Oh, _good eye,_ I didn’t see those! Let me check”, and his husband hunches down on the ground, eying the weird runes closer.

For a moment he scratches his chin, then he hums out thoughtful. “My Old Karasunian is a bit rusty but since it is very similar to First Tongue, I’d say it roughly translates as: _Heed all those, who enter mine halls. Raaz the Vermillion Wrath, slayn at this threshold with the rise of the -_ I’m pretty sure this word means _solstice -_ _year 427.”_

They exchange a long look.

 _“Sooooo…”,_ Iwaizumi beginns.

“Oh, _definitely_ library list!”, Tooru agrees. “With this date, we might actually get somewhere!”

“Knowing these things are real, it kinda… _gives me the creeps”,_ Hajime shudders.

 _“Hm…”,_ Oikawa hums examining the relief from another angle. “Does _‘Vermillion Wrath’_ ring a bell for you too?”

“No, _why?”_

“Maybe I’m just mistaken”, Oikawa decides, then he sighs loudly. “I feel like we should not have ditched _both_ our guides”

“Says the guy, _who never wants to ring for a guide”_

“Hajime, just… _okay!?”_

“Whatever you say, Shittykawa”

**\---**

The rest of the day passes by like a swift breeze and Iwaizumi is kind of _glad,_ it does so without any more surprises. When he falls onto their bed and closes his eyes, he almost can’t believe what _all happened,_ despite the fact they overslept and started the day late!

During dinner, Sugawara doesn’t lose a single word about their conversation and neither does Tooru. Instead, they find themselves entertained by Prince Tobio and Prince Shoyo telling two very contradicting and wildly impossible versions of their day.

Sawamura just shakes his head and at one point Iwaizumi can hear him mumble: _“What the hell?”,_ as if neither story was anywhere close to what _he_ experienced and probably also the truth.

Just before a servant leads them back to their room, Sawamura takes Iwaizumi aside and asks him: “Do you want us to wake you tomorrow morning, or do you want to sleep long again?”

Hajime opens his mouth, about the give a solid declaration in favour of early mornings, but then he actually thinks about it. “I think we’re fine on our own”, he eventually admits. 

The other man smiles at him knowingly and gives him a friendly shoulder pat. 

_Now,_ something heavy plops down next to him and Tooru sighs in relief.

“I forgot how _exhausting_ it is to mask myself all the time”, he grumbles into the blanket.

Iwaizumi lifts his head and looks at the dark, spiralled horn, winding its way out of a caramel nestle of hair, illuminated a soft gold by the candlelight.

He rolls onto his side and stretches out his hand, marvelling at how soft Tooru’s hair is, sliding through his fingers like silk.

The other opens a single gleaming eye and fondly blinks at him.

“We should sleep”, Iwaizumi mumbles, for some reason, suddenly breathless.

Oikawa hums and closes his eye again, leaning his head against his palm.

“Hey, _not like this,_ Shittykawa!”, Iwaizumi scolds and sits upright, fighting the jerkin and then the shirt underneath over his head, with a freeing sigh. _Finally,_ he is rid of that fuck’s forsaken turtleneck!

Tooru makes a small complaining noise, but he follows his example nonetheless and begins to open the countless buttons of his jacket.

Iwaizumi stands up and walks around the bed so he can help him.

Whenever someone asks him, why he doesn’t want to have an attendant, he says he wants his privacy. But in all honesty, that is only half the reason. The bigger, more important one is, that he simply doesn’t want these moments taken from him. It may be _childish,_ but he is _not willing to share his husband with anyone._ Especially not those tender moments in the evening, when he is tired, bleary-eyed and soft.

Iwaizumi smoothes his hand under his husband’s shirt and starts to shove it up, fingers exploring the familiar slopes of the other’s torso, then over his shoulder, feeling every single muscle under soft, perfect skin.

So yeah, to phrase it very simply: Iwaizumi found out he’s apparently prone to jealousy.

“Iwa-Chan?”

_“Hm?”_

“Thank you”, Tooru intercepts his hand and laces their fingers. “For being by my side today”, he mumbles quietly.

“Where else would I be?”, Iwaizumi cups his face in his hand.

“I don’t know… but you could have done something you enjoy more than hitting up the library. I know you don’t like books that much, and if you wouldn’t have been _there_ then, then -”

 _“Hey!”,_ with a scolding frown Iwaizumi drops down into a hunch, so that his face is at the same height as Tooru’s, who is still sitting on the edge of the bed. “I’ll always be there when you need me! No _‘if’s,_ no _‘but’s_ and no _‘why’s!_ _Always,_ even when you don’t know you need me, I’ll still be there, feeling smug while I remind you how _helpless_ you are on your own!”

“You’re so _mean,_ Iwa-Chan!”, but Tooru says it with a smile.

 _“Damn right!_ And you love the challenge”

 _“Caught me”,_ Oikawa chuckles, then he leans forward and leans his head against Iwaizumi’s shoulder. “But still: _Thank you”_

Hajime allows himself to soak in _Soft-Tooru_ -Vibes, for a few more moments, then he pats his back. _“Yeah yeah,_ you oversized toddler. Now let me get you out of your clothes - I wanna sleep”

“I appreciate your efforts, but we’ll have to work on your pillow-talk, Iwa-Chan”

 _“Shut up,_ Shittykawa!”, Iwaizumi rolls his eyes and flicks the others forehead. “You know what I mean”

They fall asleep soon, with Tooru snuggling against Iwaizumi’s back.  
  


The next morning, their routine is done quickly and after enjoying another filling breakfast they separate.

Tooru is going to snatch the two princes before they can escape them again and Iwaizumi will enact his plan.

He parts from Tooru with a kiss. “And leave them _alive,_ alright!?”, he duns him.

Oikawa pouts. “I am making _no such promises”_

_“Tooru!”_

“Alright, _alright._ But only because _you_ asked me too!”

Iwaizumi finds what he was looking for, faster than expected. Or better: _He_ finds _him._

“Oh, _Iwaizumi”,_ Sawamura looks a little surprised as he bumps into him.

 _“Sorry!”,_ Hajime takes a hasty step back. He’s been on his way to their room, to fetch a coat, assuming he would most likely find the other king outside.

“Headed for your room?”, the man asks and Iwaizumi nods.

“Yeah - grabbing a coat… _too”,_ he tells him, nodding at the one flung over the king’s shoulder.

“Oh, _hah,_ what a coincidence. But actually I am _returning_ this. I wanted to ride out, but it just started raining again!”, he sighs.

 _“Shit happens”,_ Iwaizumi muses and is rewarded with a throaty laugh.

“Pretty much, _yeah!”_

“I, umn… _actually_ I was looking for you”, he fumbles a bit with his next words.

“Everything alright?”, Sawamura looks slightly concerned, so he shakes his head quickly.

 _“Yes,_ everything fine! I was just hoping, you could, sort of.. umn, _help me_ with something”, he flaps his hands. _Shit_ \- he really should have thought about this in more detail!

“Sure”, Sawamura gives him a reassuring smile.

“So _uh,_ yesterday I found this _really_ interesting book in your library and I was kind of hoping for similar stuff, but I couldn’t find any by myself, _so…”,_ he explains.

“What kind of book was it?”, the older scratches his chin thoughtfully.

“A collection of mystic tales”, Iwaizumi admits nervously, suddenly a bit embarrassed.

“Oh, _I see._ To be entirely honest with you, I tend to avoid the library”, Sawamura chuckles, moving on to scratch the back of his head. “Suga is the one who organised everything. If you want a _specific_ book, _you’ll have to ask him”_

 _“Oh…”,_ Iwaizumi swallows back. That was exactly the scenario he wanted to _avoid!_

“I think he’s in his study now. I can show you the way”, the other man offers.

Iwaizumi would love to back down, saying it wasn’t _that important,_ but he promised Tooru he’d deal with this! So he can’t give up just because things don’t go as planned - yes, _if anything,_ this might still be as good as it can get: With Sawamura to back him up, it might even be _easier_ to get Sugawara to hand him some of the special books from his study!

“That would be great! _If it’s not inconvenient for you”,_ he bows his head in thanks.

“Ah, _nonsense._ My plans just went down the drain anyway! _Quite literally”,_ the older makes a dismissive hand wave, then beckons him to follow. _“This way”_

Hajime steels his shoulders. _Okay, time to get serious!_

Sawamura leads him back to the same room, Sawamura had shown them to the previous day and knocks at the heavy door.

 _“Come in”,_ the silver-haired king’s voice calls for them.

“Hey - _you busy?”,_ Sawamura asks as he opens and steps into the hexagonal room.

 _“Hm”,_ his husband only answers with a hum and rakes a hand back through his hair. “If you see Ennoshita, can you ask him for Saeko-San’s last report? I could have _sworn_ he already gave it to me, but for all saints’ sake, _I can’t find it!”,_ he sighs, brows furrowed into sharp folds, rummaging through the papers piling around him.

“You mean _this one?”,_ Sawamura asks and plucks up a paper from the top of one staple.

 _“Oh”,_ the other takes it, looking mildly baffled. “Yes, _that one!”_

“You always worry too much”, Sawamura scolds, reaching over the table, brushing some loose strands of hair back behind his husband’s ear. _“Don’t stress yourself so much_ \- you hardly had any sleep tonight”

“I just want to _get this finished”,_ Sugawara sighs. “What are you doing here anyway? Didn’t you plan on meeting with the herdsmen?”

 _“Second:_ Look out the window. And _first_ -”, Sawamura leans to the side and gestures Iwaizumi to step inside.

Hajime nervously licks his lips, but he does as he is told, trying his best not to scan the shelves with _too_ much interest.

 _“Oh,_ Iwaizumi. What can I do for you?”, Sugawara’s face lightens up a little, he sets down his black quill in a bronze holder and caps the tiny glass of ink by his side.

“I, _umn,_ I _really_ don’t want to impose”, Iwaizumi says, swallowing a bit too hard.

“You are not”, the silver-haired gives him a reassuring smile.

“I just…”, his eyes jump between the two kings, “I was wondering if maybe, you could _help me find a book”,_ he starts and his throat feels very dry. Subtly has never been his strong suit.

“Surely, are you looking for anything specific?”

 _“Sort of”,_ he shrugs, while his brain is screaming: _‘DEMONS’_ at full volume. “Yesterday I uh… found this collection of mystic tales and _umn,_ I really liked it but it didn’t really contain any larger context, so I would like to learn more about it”, he is pretty certain, he is starting to blabber.

“We have quite a number of folklore collections. May I ask why the certain interest?”, Sugawara leans back in his chair, folding his hands in his lap.

“Oh, _no reason”,_ Iwaizumi hastily replies, before realizing, that was the _most stupid and flimsy thing he could have said,_ so he tacks on a stuttered: “It’s just that, we… _umn,_ don’t, _you know,_ have that kind of tales in Aoba Johsai. The books are all science and apples falling to ground and stuff”

 _“I see…_ If you’d like, I can write you down some books that I personally found very informative”, Sugawara muses and opens one of his desks drawer, pulling out a small, hand-sized piece of paper and uncorks his ink again.

“Oh umn, we already went through all the referenced books. May I add, that your catalogue is _a true masterpiece!”,_ Iwaizumi straightens his back and tries to put on his best charm. “So I was hoping for something a bit more…”, he takes a deep breath, crosses his fingers behind his back, looks anywhere but the king or the weighty tomes in the shelves behind him, but rather at the ceiling, _“... special”_

“Well, you must have been _busy_ then”, Sugawara dips his head and puts down his quill, thinking.

For a long second, Hajime is certain he messed it up, but then fate jumps to his side in the form of Sawamura reaching over the desk, running his fingers over the back of his husband’s hand and giving him a soft look.

For a moment the two kings are caught up in a silent conversation, but then Sugawara gives in and sighs silently.

“Well, I have some manuscripts _here_ that might be what you are looking for, but I’m afraid that most of them are from times long before the language reform!”, he reluctantly admits.

“Oh umn, _that’s no problem_ I think… Tooru is very good with languages, he can translate for me”, Iwaizumi breathes out, doing his best not to sound overly relieved.

“What are you interested in the most?”, Sugawara asks him and rises from his chair.

Hajime hesitates. _So, so many things_ are important here, but what will help them _the most?_

“Some stories mentioned magic and fantastic creatures”, he eventually decides. “I was intrigued if there is actually any _basis_ for it, or if it’s just all _made up?”_

“The truth is seldom as glorious as people make it sound. Those stories are there to entertain them and to take their minds off their sorrows”, Sugawara says, slowly, tone calm and he reminds Iwaizumi of a teacher. “They are meant to fascinate, to nurture and elevate the spirit”

He walks along the line of the shelves, fingers running over the backs of his books, scanning their titles, then he stops. _“And yet they are also a mirror_ \- for yourself, for society and for virtues”

The silver-haired man takes two works from their place, then he walks on, picks a third and turns to Iwaizumi. “Maybe these will help you distinguish fact from fiction”, he suggests.

Hajime feels his heart jump in joy and a smug little part of himself can’t wait to rub them into his husband’s face. _Take that Tooru!_

And then everything dips to the side.

He gets only a brief moment of warning, a daunting feeling dwelling up in his stomach, then it shoots up his spine and the pentagram in his neck flames up hot and pressing, black spots take over his vision and the ground vanishes under his feet. 

Only out of the corner of his eyes he sees Sugawara stumble too and grab the edge of his desk. His wrist flares up in an unnaturally bright, white light.

Then Iwaizumi has to concentrate on his own body, on the pitch black, billowing aura he feels in the back of his head. The message behind it is clear: _I am in charge here and my authority will not be questioned!_

Iwaizumi gasps for air and with the first breath back in his lungs, the overwhelming sensation fades into a light prodding, making him slightly dizzy.

_Fuck, Tooru, what are you doing?_

Sawamura has jumped to attention, but he seems undecided between Iwaizumi and his husband. At the very, _very_ back of his head, the last functional parts of his brain, that are not taken over by the surge of darkness, realize, that the third man is not affected by Oikawa’s aura.

It all takes just a second or two, then the surge of demonic energy leaves him and the only thing that remains of it is the pentagram in his neck feeling heavy and itchy. He can still _feel_ Tooru but it’s not as overwhelming as it had been before.

Sugawara catches himself just as quickly and now Iwaizumi notices that the white glow originates from some kind of bracelet, but the other king hastily tucks his sleeve over it before Hajime can have a better look.

But in all honesty: _Discussing jewellery_ is not very high in his list of priorities at this moment.

 _“Thank you for your generosity”,_ he croaks out, his mouth tasting bitter and grabs the books from the desk before anyone can start to ask questions. “I… umn, _I have to look for Tooru!”,_ he adds, then he bows hastily and wobbly, his head still slightly swimming, turns around and _bolts._

Now that he gives in to it, the draw is powerful, like a compass, directing him to his husband.

He races through the halls, the tomes heavy in his arms, but he puts every single bit of energy into his legs. _Please…_ he begs silently. _Please don’t have snapped!_

He trusts Oikawa with his life, but he also knows the other better than he knows himself. And he knows, Tooru isn’t himself, when the darkness overcomes him.

Their bond leads him across half the castle, up a broad staircase, where he takes three steps a time and down two hallways, then he comes to a sliddering halt in front of a door and kicks it open.

 _“Tooru!”,_ he calls out.

His husband jumps a whole foot into the air, the darkness surrounding him evaporating into nothing as does his demonic appearance. If Iwaizumi didn’t _know_ it was there just seconds ago, he would have believed his eyes to play him a trick.

 _“Iwa-Chan?_ Good heavens, don’t _jump_ me like that! I thought it was someone else”, he breathes out weakly, his horns and tail flickering back into appearance.

 _“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?”,_ Iwaizumi yells and drops the books on a low dresser, slamming the door shut behind him and taking a look around.

This must be Prince Shoyo’s room and the orange-haired boy is hiding behind Prince Tobio, both of which have pressed themselves far into the corner of the room, _as far away from Tooru as possible._

“I’m _making a point!”,_ Oikawa huffs out. _“Now where was I…_ oh right!”

And he turns around at the princes again, his horns grow sharper, his claws turn into talons and his shadow expands, engulfing the room around him, stretching to all sides, painting everything pitch black, only interrupted by the fierce, red glow of slitted eyes. “Are we understood, Tobio?”, he asks, his voice echoing dangerously.

“You _can’t…”,_ the prince tries, but his voice is small.

 _“ARE. WE. UNDERSTOOD?”,_ Tooru growls loudly, sharp teeth bared at the teens and the darkness creeps closer towards them.

 _“Kageyama!”,_ Prince Shoyo whispers, almost begging and tucks at the other’s sleeve, pulling him further into the corner. For a moment Iwaizumi thinks he can see something, a bright little point shining under the prince’s clothes and his skin looks weirdly pale. But it’s only for a brief moment and the second he can’t see it anymore, Iwaizumi isn’t sure if it had been there in the first place or if it’s just his imagination.

 _“Fine”,_ the dark-haired prince grits out, trying to look strong, proud and as if he wasn’t all that impressed by his brothers display. But the way his wide blown pupils are glued to the wafting edge of darkness gives him away.

 _“Splendid”,_ Oikawa claps his hands and in the blink of an eye, the room returns to normal, dim daylight shining through the windows. “Now was that _so hard?”,_ he chirps delighted, as if he hadn’t just turned _absolutely feral._

Iwaizumi dares to release a relieved breath.

 _“Are you short a marble?”,_ he hisses and whacks his husband over the back of his head. “Do you have _any_ idea how much you scared me!”

 _“Ow,_ Iwa-Chan, _that hurt!”,_ Tooru whines and rubs the spot.

 _“It better has!”,_ he barely restrains himself from screaming again. _“Do. Not. EVER!_ Do this again without giving me a heads up!”, he pokes his finger into the other’s chest with every word, then he takes up the books, shoves them at the other, who catches them surprised and grabs him by the ear.

 _“Pardon the intrusion,_ Prince Shoyo!”, he gives the princes a curt nod.

“Ouch, _ouch, ouch,_ Iwaaaaaa- _chaaaaan”,_ Tooru laments as Iwaizumi proceeds to pull him out the room by his ear.

Before he closes the door behind him, he can hear the youngster mumble: “Kageyama, _are we dead?”,_ but it falls shut without letting the dark-haired’s answer through.

He drags his husband a few steps further, then he gives him a shove and another push in the back, herding him forward.

“What are _those?”,_ Tooru asks, curiously looking at the books in his arms.

“Books, _asshat!_ _What the hell is your problem,_ huh?”

“I’m sorry”, the brunet strikes a softer tone. “But to be fair: _You didn’t tell me your plan either”,_ and that petty little addition drowns the tiny spark of forgiveness, gleaming in Iwaizumi, _right on the spot._

 _“That is not the point!_ And also: My plan _worked,_ I got you some of the special books, you’re welcome!”, Hajime grunts.

“Well, _my plan also worked!”,_ Tooru defends himself. “Tobio will behave himself and report everything to me from now on!”

“The worst that could have happened if _my plan failed,_ would have been _literally nothing!_ If anyone saw you, if _I hadn’t been there to distract the kings,_ they would have gone after you!”

 _“Oh please,_ now you are overexaggerating!”

 _“Really?_ Because Sugawara noticed your aura - _big time!_ And I’m pretty sure he is not a fan of _rampaging demons threatening his children!”,_ Iwaizumi gives him another push in the back, directing Oikawa further away from the prince’s room and to somewhere, they hopefully won’t be disturbed!

“Well that is _interesting”,_ Oikawa hums, eyes gleaming.

 _“Are you fucking kidding me?_ You could have gotten yourself _killed_ and _that_ is all you think about?”

 _“I never planned to hurt them_ \- just scare the boys a little”, Oikawa dismisses.

“Well, _it sure as shit didn’t look that way!_ And people fearing for their lives or those of their loved ones _usually_ don’t stop and ask before striking to kill!”, Iwaizumi snaps aggravatedly.

“You wouldn’t let anyone hurt me, _would you?”_

“Okay, _correction:_ You would have gotten _both of us killed!”,_ Iwaizumi feels himself starting to yell.

“Hajime, _geez,_ why are you so angry?”, Tooru snaps back.

“You wanna know, _why I’m angry?_ I’ll tell you: I’m _angry_ because you constantly insist, not to show yourself but then you go _fucking feral!_ I’m _angry_ because we just found out that crow steel can actually _HURT_ you! I’m _angry_ because you didn’t tell me _anything_ and I -”

“Were you _scared for me?”,_ his partner cooks his head to the side, curiously.

“Like _hell_ I was!”, Iwaizumi barks, even though that pretty much hits the nail on the head and Oikawa _knows it!_

 _“Hajime”,_ he gently tries to reach for his hand.

“Don’t _‘Hajime’_ me!”, Iwaizumi pulls it away, angrily.

“Iwa-Chan”

And when he finally looks at Tooru, the other is blinking at him, like a cat, _fondly,_ eyes shining and reflecting a little light there is like bonfires.

 _“Arghhhhhh”,_ and Iwaizumi rakes his hands back through his hair. _“For fuck’s sake!”_

Because he can’t stay mad at those eyes.

“Just… don’t _ever_ do that without telling me, _ever again,_ okay? I almost passed out”

“You -”

“Yes, _I felt that!”,_ Iwaizumi undercuts him. _“Very much!”_

“I’m sorry, okay? _I really am._ I didn’t know this would affect you so much”, the other carefully runs his fingers over his wrist and this time he doesn’t resist it. “I love you”

“I love you too. Even though sometimes I _really don’t know why!”,_ Iwaizumi huffs out.

 _“Hey”,_ Tooru pouts.

“Why are you _always so reckless?_ You plan and scheme _everything_ and then you throw it all to hell, putting yourself in danger _and for what?”_

“I won’t do it again if you don’t want me too, but will you trust me, when I say that _I had it under control?”_

Iwaizumi runs his fingers through his hair once more and sighs. _“Yeah”,_ because what other option does he have!?

 _“Good”,_ and Oikawa closes in on him, takes Iwaizumi by surprise and backs him up against the wall.

“Hey, _To-”,_ but he is shushed and then Tooru dips down his head, hot breath ghosting against his throat and a shiver runs down his body.

His partner moves and noses his way to Iwaizumi’s neck. He’s been forced into the turtleneck, again, but he can still feel the warmth of the other’s lips over the pentagram.

For a moment his heart _beats too strong,_ the blood in his body _circulates too fast,_ his vision swims and his knees grow weak. But Oikawa draws back his head and an eyeblink later, Iwaizumi feels _incredibly clear,_ his headache over, the tension in his shoulders relaxed and the itching in his neck _gone._

“Do you feel better now?”, Oikawa asks softy.

“Ye… _yeah,_ I do”, he massages his neck curiously and rolls his shoulders, fascinated by how light his body feels. Usually, he only ever feels this sharp and light when he has a good day out training!

Tooru looks very pleased with himself, then he hums. “So, what are those books?”, he asks.

 _“Don’t know._ Sugawara gave ‘em to me”

“Oh, _Iwa-Chan is becoming a diplomat”,_ Tooru chirps, “There is hope for you _after all”_

_“Shut up”_

“But it’s funny, _isn’t it?_ Usually, _you_ yell at people and _I_ charm them, but today…”, he doesn’t finish the sentence.

“Let’s just look if they are any good”, Iwaizumi rolls his eyes. “Or if I embarrassed myself for nothing”

Oikawa hums in agreement.

“Oh, and you will keep carrying them! I already brought them here”, Iwaizumi tells him and Oikawa whines in complaint, but he doesn’t try to argue.

They somehow manage to find the library on their own and the second he closes the door behind them, something occurs to Iwaizumi.

 _“Hey,_ Tooru? Isn’t it going to be… _weird_ if we just disappear?”, he asks.

 _“Good point”,_ Oikawa mumbles, biting on his lip, “But they left us alone before… I think it’s going to be fine for a little while”, he eventually decides and carries Sugawara’s books over to the reading chairs and tables.

He has convinced Hajime to tell him exactly what happened in the study and been almost silent ever since.

At first, Iwaizumi had been _certain_ he saw Sugawara glow but now that he thinks back, everything is so blurry, he can’t say for sure anymore.

“I _did_ notice the bracelet, although I would say it is more of a _fetter”,_ Oikawa thinks out loud. “I thought it was weird, because it looks very heavy, but also not loose enough to be an occasional accessory. I think it’s permanent”

“Like, it _can’t be taken off?”_

 _“Yeah,_ but other than that it looked like normal jewellery to me. Black metal, _not crow steel tough”,_ Oikawa tells him and flops down into the chair he has declared his, eagerly turning the top book in his hands, then he flips open the first page.

Iwaizumi sighs and takes one too, but he doesn’t even manage past the cover. _It’s First Tongue._ He smacks his lips in displease, shoves it over to Tooru and opens the third. Now this one… _he has no idea what it is!_ Single words stand out to him, others look familiar but weirdly distorted and most like nothing he has ever seen before.

Frustrated he slams it closed and throws it on the table. _Great!_

For a few moments, he sits in silence, Tooru reading by his side, then he jumps up to his feet, restlessly.

He really could use a nap after that scare, but now that they finally seem to _get somewhere_ he is suddenly filled with _plenty_ of energy… no, he’s fidgety _ever since Tooru did his thing with the pentagram!_

“Hey, what was-”

_“Solstice of 427”_

“Thanks”, and he turns around, jumping down the stairs to the base level of the convoluted room and back to the entrance, where he consults a map of the library, organised by sections.

He’s already skimmed over the historical records briefly and picked out random ones with interesting titles.

Now he goes over the backs of those old manuscripts again and mumbles under his breath: “427, _427, 427, 427, 427_ ... 411… no, _no, no_ … 422.... 425… _gotcha”,_ and hoists out a letherclad volume, with an iron-reinforced back and cover.

He flips it open to double-check and takes a look into the following two, just to make sure it’s only this one for that year.

Iwaizumi takes a brief look at the card of this book and his eyes catch on a mention: _‘Karanomori Sugawara, The Fisher Queen to Masahiro Sugawara, The Vermilion Wrath - Royal Chronicle of the White Age’_

He traces back this chronicle and takes both books back up to Tooru, who is one inch from just disappearing in the pages.

“Iwa-Chan, _this is amazing!”,_ he mumbles and flips a page, eagerly licking his lips.

 _“Why,_ what’s in it?”

“It describes the harvesting of magic”, Oikawa tells him without looking up. “Apparently you can draw from several sources: _Within, Apart_ and _The Pulse,_ whatever that is…”

 _“The Pulse?”,_ Iwaizumi set’s down his lectures and thinks. “Hold on, _that sounds familiar,_ I’ve read that before in one of the fables!”

Tooru’s head snaps up, eagerly, his eyes gleaming and his tail lashing out wildly. He reminds Iwaizumi of a dog, waiting for his stick to be thrown.

“Yeah, _yeah,_ I’ll get the book”, he sighs and once again descends into the twilight of the shelves.

He finds the collection of tales quickly and flips through it until he finds the particular passage.

 _“Here”,_ he holds it, so Oikawa can read it too. “So the story is about a village close to a river and one day the river rises over its shore due to a long rain season. The village is about to be destroyed when a foreign man appears. The villagers had believed him to be a penniless traveller since he sleeps behind the tavern but then this happens:  
‘ _So the stranger stepped forth and plunged his hand into the earth as if it was water. And the water stilled as if it was earth, for the man had called out his command and formed the pulse to his wishes, asking the river to bend its bed anew._

_And the heavens poured for another five of days, but the village was saved and never once more threatened by the pull of water.’_

I only skimmed it, because the fable is so short but this _‘Pulse’_ thing got stuck with me.”

 _“I see._ So must be some kind of energy source in the ground”, Oikawa thinks out loud, fingers tapping against his chin, then he looks back into the book in his own lap, growing silent and his eyes hushing over the letters.

“I’ll just leave you this here and try to find something on that manticore”, Iwaizumi says quietly and places the open fable on a table next to them, then he picks up his own reading and sighs. He’s going to have a headache from reading, _he can already feel it,_ but now is no time to complain about his ongoing feud with letters and books.

Iwaizumi is regularly amazed by how fluctuating Tooru’s demeanour is. Sometimes he can’t sit still for even a minute, fidgets around, does nonsense with his tail, or taps his finger on something. And then there are times like riding the carriage or right now, where he sits absolutely still for hours, only his eyes moving and occasionally twitching his tail’s spaded tip.

Hajime sits upright, rubs at his eyes and twists in his chair, his lower back cracking loudly.

“Do you have anything, so far?”

Tooru has been so still until now, that Iwaizumi needs a moment to realize the brunet has spoken.

 _“Umn yeah…_ I _do_ actually”

And _behold,_ Tooru looks up from his text and gives him an encouraging nod.

“So, apparently the _White Age_ was a period of almost 70 years, starting with the death of Queen Karanomori, that had especially harsh winters, which lasted long into the spring and started early in fall. It placed a great burden on Karasuno, not only because they couldn’t grow enough crops in the shortened farming period, but also because it drove many wild animals from the Nekoma and Fukurodani forests into their land”, he starts. “In the last winter of that time, the cold became so bad that even the mystical creatures left their territory and invaded Karasuno in search of food. Among other things the manticore, which was _especially hungry and cruel_ in its pursuit of a meal. It terrorized the lands around the castle, hunted humans and cattle alike, but they couldn’t catch or defeat it because even while starving, it was _still_ faster and stronger than the warriors. So Prince Masahiro decided to lure it into the castle by leaving the gates open and herding the last living sheep inside. The manticore followed and in the tunnel where the kitchens are, he faced off against it. The gate behind him was closed and the other end was sealed off so that the manticore couldn’t escape. He defeated and killed it after a harsh battle that cost him an eye and an ear, then performed _some ritual,_ using the manticore’s blood to hallow the land. Either it really _did_ use something or it’s just coincidence but that marked the turning point and the beginning of the end of the White Age. After ascending the throne Masahiro decided, now that the people had enough food again, the beast whose blood made it all possible, _allegedly,_ deserved to be remembered in dignity as well. So he had the relief made and choose the beasts nick-name _‘Vermillion Wrath’_ as his crown title.”

 _“Wild story”,_ Tooru hums.

“He actually went on to become _quite the famous King._ He revolutionized the tax-system, build the western tower and won the - _quote_ \- legendary battle at Rock Hills - _unquote_ \- significantly strengthening Karasuno’s position in the south and had, _holy shit,_ eight children”, Iwaizumi goes on, checking off all listed achievements in the Royal Chronicle, open in his lap.

Tooru whistles slightly impressed. “Of course, _the battle at Rock Hills_ \- that one is _pretty famous_ among historians. The dukedom that challenged Karasuno hired a mercenary to lead their army. The man was considered to be undefeatable, because of his advanced tactics involving multiple units of archers. _That was_ until he faced the crow’s cavalry and was sorely defeated”, he snaps this fingers. _“No wonder_ the name sounded familiar to me”

“Those crown titles - I wonder how they are chosen?”, Iwaizumi flicks through the pages. This chronicle is rather thin and only features four rulers of Karasuno plus their partners.

 _“That depends._ Sometimes Kings and Queens choose them themselves, out of a special occasion, after places or battles they won. Sometimes _the people_ assign them one, as a form of worship and adoration and sometimes it’s historians who give them an additional title. Actually I have been _thinking_ about which one I will grant father”, Tooru explains, then he leans back in his chair, face thoughtful. “I’m torn between ‘ _The Weasel-Face’, ‘The Great Asshole’_ or just _none at all._ I have a feeling _that_ would piss him off the most, but I also want to _shove_ the humiliation down his throat”

Hajime sighs. “Just... _flip a coin”,_ he suggests.

“To choose between _three_ options?”

 _“Roll a dice_ and assign two numbers to each name”

“Hm… that might _actually_ be an idea”

For a moment they sit in silence, then Tooru asks: “Wait, you said, it drove creatures into the land. _Plural”_

“Yeah, but it just says _‘Beasts of legend, old and dark’._ Only the manticore is named specifically”

 _“Bummer,_ but at least we know that those are real, now”, Oikawa shrugs.

 _“If there are any left._ This record points out the rarity of manticores. If they were rare back then, maybe they are extinct by now”, Iwaizumi speculates.

 _“Then again,_ they had centuries alone in their woods. Maybe their population increased in that time”, Tooru disagrees.

“I’m not sure if that is something _I’d want!_ They sound… _threatening!_ Venomous bite and a tail that stings you to death. Claws the length of a man’s forearm and above all they have wings and can fly. If I never have to face one, I don’t think _I’d miss the experience”,_ Hajime shudders, then he pulls himself together and looks at his husband. “Did _you_ find anything?”

 _“Lots”,_ Tooru’s eyes brighten up and he beams in his seat. “There is _so much_ I want to try out when we are back home! I just wish I could make a copy of this”, he finishes with a sigh.

“I’m afraid we don’t have _that_ much time, so better put that _ridiculously large head of yours_ to good use!”, Iwaizumi closes the Royal Chronicle and gets up.

“What is _that_ supposed to mean?”, Tooru’s head snaps up, face scrunched.

 _“I’m saying,_ that you know the name of every single person employed at the castle, so _clearly_ your head has capacity. Now _use_ that, read _fast_ and remember you weird magic stuff _good!_ ‘cause I don’t want you to blow stuff up again”, Hajime stands up and stretches his back.

“I will just _assume,_ that is meant as a compliment”, Oikawa slits his eyes at him.

Iwaizumi is about to tell him: _‘You sure about that?’,_ but before he can tease his partner, loud knocking echoes through the room.

Tooru looks up in alarm whispering: _“Fuck,_ how long have we been in here?”, his demonic traits flickering once, then he’s masked them and made them invisible.

Hajime can just shrug. He _doesn’t know!_

His hand automatically moves to his belt and once again he curses Tooru for convincing him to leave his knife in their room. He feels _weird_ without at least a small blade by his side, but the other _insisted_ it would be rude to carry one when they were guests somewhere.

The door below them opens and he takes a deep breath, steeling himself for _both_ fight and flight.

 _“Pardon the intrusion”,_ Ennoshita pushes himself into the room, a big bundle of four more books stapled in his arms. “His Grace asked me to bring you these. He said _you left in such a hurry, he didn’t have time to give them to you”_

Iwaizumi exchanges another confused look with Tooru, who just gestures at him to go take the books.

 _“Th…_ thank you”, Iwaizumi needs two tries to make his voice sound normal while meeting the other man halfway up the stairs and taking the material off his hands.

“It is my honour to serve”, the dark-haired replies formally. “Do you wish any refreshments?”

“We _uhhhhh…”,_ Hajime looks over his shoulders. Tooru nods. 

“Some _drinks_ would be splendid”, he requests.

Ennoshita bows, then he turns around and walks back to the door.

Iwaizumi doesn’t dare breathe until it has fallen shut behind him.

Then he brings the new tomes over to Tooru, whispering: _“How did he know we were here?”_

 _“Lucky guess?”,_ Tooru supposes. “I mean Sugawara _did_ give you _books_ \- library would be the most logical choice to go”

 _“Yeah”,_ he breathes out, but Hajime doesn’t feel convinced, then he looks at the extra books, exchanging another look with Tooru. “You think this is weird too, _right?”_

 _“Definitely,_ but I am not complaining if it gives me more material to work with”, Oikawa agrees and carefully sorts through the new arrivals.

“Those are _old…_ and _odd!”,_ he mumbles and picks the lower two up. “This language… _this is Old-Johzenji!”,_ he gapes. “I have never seen _so much of it_ written down!”

“Then how do you know it?”, Iwaizumi asks curiously.

 _“Here, see:_ The many harsh, upwards lines and ankles suggest that it’s from the islands. For long they didn’t have written record and instead carved history into large tablets of wood. This stylized way of lettering is therefore unique within Miyagi. Because they are an isolated country, little is known about their old language. I have read a few translated works, so _with time_ I think I could decipher this, but it would _take months”,_ Tooru sounds regretful. 

_“Oof”,_ Iwaizumi narrows his eyes at the many little squares and triangles.

“And _this here”,_ Oikawa holds up the other book. “That is a language I have _never even seen before._ The imprintings in the cover hint that it comes from the east, but it’s _neither Nekomanian nor Fukurodani._ These books - they are one of a kind, probably worth more than UshiWaka’s entire treasury… _each!”,_ he ecstatically informs Iwaizumi.

“I hate to be a joy kill here, but if you _can’t read them,_ they might as well be _food for the pigs”_

 _“How am I in love with you?”,_ Oikawa looks at him, mouth agape and eyes wide in disbelief.

Iwaizumi stares back at him, deadpan. “I’ll leave you alone with the books then. _Have fun not reading words”,_ he grunts out, grabs the _Royal Chronicle_ and the _Historical Record of 427_ and stomps down into the main part of the library to return them.

That keeps him occupied for another three minutes, _then_ he stands in front of the shelves, _feeling very useless and with nothing to do._

So he finds himself walking along the shelves aimlessly, briefly scanning the backs of all the manuscripts. At the end of the line, he comes to a full stop. _Hold on,_ didn’t they wonder… he turns back a few steps and starts to go over the dates again and more carefully. He finds what he is looking for, safely stowed away in a separate compartment of the shelf. The pages are only provisorily bundled together with strings and protected by two sheets of thick carton - _the most recent Royal Chronic._ Someday it will be turned into another, artfully covered book, but until someone declares this age over, Iwaizumi assumes it will stay like this.

Hence, _extra carefully_ he flips it open and skims the entries. It’s the page before the last, that catches his eye: _Queen Satsuki Nagisaki,_ daughter of Misaki and Oichiro, merchands of spices and cloth. Wife to King Kohei Sugawara, mother to Koshi Sugawara. Brown of eyes, fair of skin, _black of hair._

Iwaizumi stops short. _Weird…_

He skims over the entry until he finds what he is looking for. _Death on the childbed, age 26._

 _Okay, something definitely doesn’t add up here!_ He flips to the last page.

 _King Kohei Sugawara…_ silver of hair… _Death by old age, age 57._

Old, _sure,_ but… _not that old!_

Iwaizumi flicks back and forth, brows furrowed. And then he notices it. _The ink._

The old queen must have died significantly before the king, but the ink on both pages looks the exact same as if they were written together.

 _“Weird…”,_ he mumbles to himself, wondering what Tooru might make of this. 

But before he can think about in any further, a second loud knock announces Ennoshita’s return and Iwaizumi hastily puts the manuscript back where he got it from.

It turns out, one of Sugawara’s new books is actually in _a language Iwaizumi understands and can read,_ so he decides to help out his husband.

But the sentences are long and tiresome, _letters so tiny, he has to squint his eyes constantly,_ contents weird and beyond his comprehension and so, in the end, he falls asleep over it.

That is until someone softly pats his cheek and jumps to attention. _“Wide awake!”,_ he muffles, blinking hastily.

“Don’t worry Iwa-Chan, it’s just me”, Tooru looks down at him.

“Sorry, I… _fuck,_ what time is it?”, he rubs his eyes.

“Nightfall”, Oikawa hums and Iwaizumi groans out another passionate: “Fuck, _I’m so sorry”_

“Don’t worry, you look _cute_ when you’re sleeping”, Tooru grins slyly and boops his nose.

“Fuck off, _Shittykawa”,_ Iwaizumi swats at him, readjusting his seat.

The other just giggles, tail twitching tauntingly. _“Come on_ \- we’ve been called for dinner”

With a groan, Iwaizumi hoists himself up and curses his stiff back.

“Hajime”, Oikawa leans against the table, where he has neatly stapled the books.

“What?”

“I want to leave tomorrow morning”, the other tells him unexpectedly.

 _“What?_ Don’t tell me you read all that in a couple of hours?”, he rubs at his eyes again. Maybe he is still asleep and hearing things?

 _“No._ I finished the one I had at first and did a brief overview of the rest. One is just more fables, the other two could be _incredibly_ useful”, Tooru shakes his head.

“Then… _why?”,_ Iwaizumi doesn’t understand. They finally have a solid lead on magic.

 _“I…”,_ his husband hesitates. “I need to stomach a few things and think about stuff. Also, we can’t hole up in here forever. Tobio will stay, so we have a reason to come back. Karasuno is prooving to be _way more useful than I thought._ I fear if I rush through everything now, I might overlook something, so I will take this slow and I will _do this right!”,_ he explains eventually.

Iwaizumi lets that settle, then he nods: _“Alright._ I’ll be by your side, no matter where you go!”

Oikawa grants him a small, honest smile. _“I already feel a lot safer”_

Iwaizumi is not the only one who is surprised when Tooru announces their early departure. The kings of Karasuno exchange a long look as he tells them, but then Sugawara dips his head in acknowledgement.

“I understand you are _needed_ at Skygarden. I hope that your stay was pleasant still”

 _“Utmost!”,_ Tooru nods. “I am intrigued as to where you have acquired such _exquisite_ manuscripts? _And_ learned to read them?”

The silver-haired man smiles, just the tiniest bit sly and merely says: “You are acquainted with Lord Tsukishima?”, and without waiting for an answer he goes on, “His older brother likes to travel the world and has helped me collect a number of exotic texts. It took some practice but I learned to work the system in my favour so I could read them and if not _read them myself,_ have someone translate them for me”

Iwaizumi feels a cold shiver run down his spine and he tries to be subtle in the look he gives Tooru. _So he knows we were with Lord Kei…_ maybe they should just come clean, secrecy _clearly_ has no point in this castle.

“Quite… _interesting”,_ but the face Tooru makes is nothing more than a mask. Iwaizumi knows that the other is just as confused as he is, with how to interpret that answer. _Working the system?_ Is that some kind of royal analogy exclusive to Karasuno? Or just one more piece of the puzzle they are missing?

For the entire duration of the evening, Iwaizumi tries to be on the lookout for the fetter. But the silver-haired king has pulled the cuffs of his long bishop sleeves all the way down to his wrist, so _if he is wearing it,_ it’s hidden under the black cloth.

Instead he, _however,_ notices that Sugawara’s attire is _weird in general._ Iwaizumi spend enough long hours with the tailor and Oikawa lecturing him about the importance of cuts and fabrics, that he knows the cloth is good quality, as are the careful and sober embroideries, but the clothes just don’t _fit._

And when he thinks about it, he suddenly becomes aware, that he has never seen the man in a different style of outfit _either!_ It’s _always_ pitch black, _always_ the jacket with the long sleeves, high collar and long cut, copper row of buttons down the chest and tails falling loosely over his thighs. He’s _also_ wearing the belt underneath it, so it only holds his, _too very loose-fitting,_ pants and not over the coat, as it’s supposed to go. And all clothes look a least one size too large on him, falling slack and bulky.

On one hand, it could be for comfort and Karasuno _is_ overall more informal than most kingdoms. But still… it just seems _weird_ to Hajime. Even if he was reusing clothes that hadn’t been made for him, there must be a _single tailor somewhere in the country_ to adjust them to his statue. 

He also notices how, for the first part, Sawamura seems a bit dense, his face stern and his lips twitching in something that could be displease every time his eyes fall on Oikawa, but eventually he relaxes and tends to just ignore him.

The surprise, when Tooru announces, he wishes his brother a good stay until the _High Council,_ mainly envokes cheers at the lower end of the table.

“Tokyo, here we come. _Guaaaaaaaa”,_ Prince Shoyo cheers. “Kenma-San and Inuoka-San are going to be super excited. It’ll be all: _whoosh_ and _raaaah_ , right Kageyama?”

“Are you _stupid?”,_ Prince Tobio glares at him and Iwaizumi tries not to laugh to openly. He has _no idea_ what the orange-haired boy is expecting from his journey but it _sounds_ like fun.

“Boys”, Sugawara undercuts them, before they can start a discussion over the right pronunciation of _‘whoosh’._

Tooru stays awake long into the night, reading in another book, telling Iwaizumi he will sleep in the carriage tomorrow.

And that _he does,_ curled up into Hajime’s side as soon as they set out.

The kings of Karasuno send them off in the morning and Oikawa exchanges a couple last, dunning words with Prince Tobio, before hesitantly and to everyone’s surprise _patting_ his head.

“Take care. And remember: _Don’t overthink_ and _don’t be afraid to make mistakes”,_ Sawamura reminds him and they share a last, firm handshake.

Then Iwaizumi is perched back into the carriage, with a slumbering half-demon on top of him.

It feels like _ages_ since they arrived in the crows land, and yet it was only three days ago.

With a sigh, he stretches out his legs and winds an arm around Tooru.

They have a shitload of work ahead and he doesn’t feel smarter or wiser in the least.

But perhaps… _a bit more settled._

**Author's Note:**

>  **Thank you for reading :)**  
>  If you are interested in my contents, then check out my [Tumblr](https://charlythelee.tumblr.com) and my [DeviantArt](https://charlylee.deviantart.com)
> 
> To have a look at the ATKB Masterposte with all crosslinks, complimentary art and headcanons click [this link right here](https://charlythelee.tumblr.com/post/616570870373203968/atkb-masterpost).


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